


The Story Untold

by BlackDeviouseRose



Category: Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood & Manga, Naruto
Genre: F/M, Female Uzumaki Naruto, Genderbending, how the hell do these tags even work, im so sorry about the late updating, the story gets better i swear
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-09-07
Updated: 2015-09-26
Packaged: 2018-02-16 11:31:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 21,041
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2268105
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlackDeviouseRose/pseuds/BlackDeviouseRose
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It was a shame, it truly was. She had finally brought Sasuke back home, and she was needed elsewhere. She dimly wondered how they were doing. Those two little brothers of hers. Ah well, she'd know soon enough.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

" _Nee-chan!" a young voice cried, "Do you really have to go!"_

_The 'nee-chan' smiled down at the sobbing boy clutching at her shirt._

" _Gomen ne, Al, but I really do have to leave," The little boy sobbed loudly upon hearing that "but don't worry. I promise to come back someday."_

" _Don't even bother!" a different furious voice suddenly rang out, "We don't need you! You're abandoning us just like dad did!"_

" _Ed…"_

" _No! Just leave already and never come back!"_

" _Nii-san!" the crying boy exclaimed to his older brother._

_The young girl merely smiled at the stubborn boy. She then walked over and pat him on the head, receiving a vicious glare for her efforts._

" _I'll miss you Ed, Al. I'm sorry, but…good bye."_

_She took a moment to look deep into their eyes. Their eyes were so beautiful, so gold and warm. It made her chest clench and tears swim in her own cerulean eyes._

_Suddenly, she found herself hugging them both as close as possible before abruptly letting go and grabbing her bag. She painstakingly headed to the door and left the place she came to see as her precious home, ignoring the sobbing and crying for her not to leave_

_As she shut the door a single tear slid down her scarred cheek._

* * *

With a start one Uzumaki Naruto sat up in her bed very swiftly. Unfortunately she sat up a bit  _too_ swiftly and her face ended up on an interesting collision course with the harsh wood of her floor.

Groaning Naruto sat up rubbing her head and cursing the heavens for the injustice of it all.

"Damn it…fucking floor boards…" her muttering went unheeded by the offender.

As she began to pull herself up and into her bed she began to wonder  _why_ exactly she had awoken in the first place. Leaning back on her hands and staring up at the ceiling she felt  _it_.

_It_ was slight, very small, but  _it_ was there none the less. She knew no one else in this country would feel  _it_. Only her.

Upon feeling  _it_ she immediately tensed up and threw the covers off of her bed to rush to her open window and stare out at the disturbingly silent night. After a few moments of searching her gaze dropped to her hands that were clenched on the windowsill.

"It's time huh…" her eyes closed, fighting off the onslaught of memories.

It'd be better to leave tonight; she decided silently, it'd be easier to slip out of the village now, when all of her friends were either sleeping or away on a mission. She also didn't want to foolishly change her mind.

She had to leave.

Leave her friends.

Her teammates.

Her life.

Her  _family._

She could already feel the tears wanting to fall but she determinedly held them back. It wouldn't do to get emotional. This was important and held top priority over anything else.

With a fierce gaze she set upon preparing to leave her home.

Looking one last time around her beloved apartment - which was a really nothing but a tornado of clothes, empty ramen cups, comic books, and trash – she felt another wave of emotion hit her.

She had basically grown up in this little apartment. She had eaten, read, slept, and grew here. To leave it behind made her feel…empty.

Shaking her head she clutched her dark merchant cloak around her, swinging a dark bag over shoulder.

Leaving the village was rather easy with the way she was dressed. The ninja's guarding the gate merely nodded at her, thinking she was a traveling merchant as she had suppressed her chakra as much as physically possible to match that of a civilian. It was not an easy task.

She had been jumping through the trees for several hours now, slowly making progress toward her set destination. She paused in a tall tree, looking back at the distant light of Konohagakure.

She knew leaving now was dangerous. The Akatsuki were still at large and on her tail, making her slightly uneasy as well as nervous. She didn't know what would happen from here on. She knew it would be difficult, almost everything she did was, but she knew she'll make it through somehow.

It was a shame, it truly was. She had just brought Sasuke home and she was needed elsewhere. Turning her gaze away from the place she saw as home, she continued through the trees, ignoring the single tear that slipped down her tan cheek.

* * *

Haruno Sakura was having a relatively good morning. First she had had a lovely breakfast consisting of Okayu, miso soup, broiled fish and tamagoyaki. She had then cleaned her small home while listening to some of her favorite music.

Now the pinket was on the way to Naruto's apartment to awaken the blonde and meet with Kakashi-sensei for some training. She hummed a little tune as she headed up the flight of stairs that would lead her to the blonde's rather filthy abode. Her nose wrinkled just thinking about it.

Knocking on the door in the hope Naruto was already awake she sighed when she received no answer. Slipping the spare key from the potted plant situated next the front door she swiftly slid it in, turning the lock.

The room was a danger zone, she thought taking off her shoes and stepping inside. With grace only a kunoichi would possess she slipped around the piles of trash to Naruto's small room.

She blinked in surprise when she found the blonde nowhere to be seen.

"What the..?" she mumbled walking into the kitchen, but a blonde head of spiky hair remained to be seen.

"Naruto!" She called out in impatience. She didn't have time for this! They needed to meet with the rest of the team!

At that thought her expression lightened. It had been around 6 months since the Jinchuuriki had brought back the last Uchiha. It had been awkward at first with Sasuke ignoring them and Naruto ignoring him right back.

It had taken over a month for them to start talking and that was only snide remarks coupled with heated glares. Sasuke had been placed under house arrest and was to be watched over by at least 3 Anbu at all times. This had, naturally, made him moody and distraught. Despite this, Naruto would visit him every day, just sitting in the same room together never speaking.

Slowly, Sasuke began to filter back into their lives, and Sakura had never been happier. She had gotten over her childhood crush for him and had started dating other boys. She had yet to find someone that she felt seriously for, but she was trying to distance herself with the weak Sakura of the past.

Something in the corner of her eye distracted her thoughts. Turning toward it she found that it was a bright piece of orange paper sticking out brilliantly against the pale tile of the island counter. She reached out her hand and saw that the letter was addressed to her.

Blinking she delicately broke the seal and let her green eyes fly swiftly across the page.

They then widened in shock.

* * *

Naruto yawned loudly as she walked along the path leading to the next town. She had gotten a restless night's sleep at a small motel and was tired and irritable not to mention hungry. Her stomach groaned in agreement.

She had been walking for about 3 hours and knew that Sakura would have found her note by now. Sighing she decided to pick up her pace, knowing Konoha was very likely to send Ninja's after her. Feeling a tingle run down her spine she hoped they didn't choose anyone from the Rookie 12.

Somehow that hope felt to be in vain.


	2. Chapter 2

Naruto stared lazily across the endless blue expanse before her. Gosh she was so drowsy. After several days of constant traveling with only a break here and there it was nice to just relax.

She had [MANAGED](https://www.fanfiction.net/story/story_download.php?storytextid=38541781#) to find a ship on its way to Amestris, and had never felt so relieved. She had quickly bought a ticket and hopped aboard for a long journey across the ocean, and was surprised she had enough money to board the ship, honestly. The trip there took several long days and the ship she found wasn't just a dinghy little thing.

She knew that in a mere few hours they would be docking and she was nervous. Very nervous. The last time she had felt this nervous was when she was doing the survival test set up by Kakashi-sensei. Back then, her nerves were so bundled together she couldn't sit still, her was stomach filled with butterflies and head pounding with stress.

Smiling at the memory she stopped. She didn't want to think about Konoha, reminiscing would be for later. Right now she needed to focus on the task at hand. As Sasuke-ish as it sounded, she really wanted to make it through this without the thought of her home in Konoha.

Speaking of home, she frowned as she remembered the letter she had received years back detailing the death of Trisha Elric, her aunt turned adopted mother. She had been distraught and sad upon hearing of the death of one of the only family members she had. A year later – when she was 13 she noted - she received a letter from Pinako explaining that her younger brother's had burned down the family home.

She had been confused at the time, but she now had an inkling as to why they did it. Rubbing the bridge of her nose she knew the first thing she had to do was visit granny Pinako and Winry. She knew her younger brother's wouldn't be there – Pinako had sent another letter explaining that Ed had joined the military as a State Alchemist.

She honestly didn't care about that particular fact. It was his choice, and it wasn't like her lifestyle was any better (it was worse in fact); she just didn't know  _why_ they would join the military and planned to find out.

She grinned as she thought of how surprised they would be when they saw her.

What she didn't know was that she would be in for a surprise as well.

* * *

Oh god she loved trains, Naruto decided quickly. She could just stretch out on a bench and  _sleep,_  and how fucking wonderful that was. Not only that, but it was fast traveling and she quickly reached Resembool which made her both excited and nervous. Walking along the familiar path to granny Pinako's she let out a sigh. The last time she had been here was when she was seven…

Hearing a barking she looked up to see Den happily running toward her, her automail leg clanging noisily with her. Laughing she dropped her bag to the ground to collapse to her knee's hugging and petting her.

"Hey girl!" she said happily, "I bet you missed me huh!"

Den barked happily and promptly proceeded to clean her face. Laughing she stood up, grabbing her bag, and [CONTINUED](https://www.fanfiction.net/story/story_download.php?storytextid=38541781#) walking toward the house a little ways down, the border collie trailing after her.

"What is it Den?" she heard a voice call out from a [WINDOW](https://www.fanfiction.net/story/story_download.php?storytextid=38541781#) upstairs.

Grinning Naruto raised her hand in a peace sign, "Yo! Winry!"

'Winry' gasped upon seeing who exactly her dog was fussing over and quickly ran downstairs to meet her sister figure at the door.

"Naruto!" the other blonde cried, wrapping her arms around the Uzumaki in a tight hug.

"Winry! I missed you" Naruto cried right back, holding onto her for dear life.

"My my, look who's grown…" another aged voice said.

"Granny!" Naruto, unhinging from Winry, hugged the small women.

"Although you are taller than Ed it isn't by much…in fact I'd say you're about the same size."

"Stupid old bat."

"Shrimpy little beast."

Naruto smiled. Pinako huffed.

"Tadaima."

* * *

Dinner had been nice, with Winry's excited chatter, Naruto and Pinako's banter, and the delicious food that accompanied.

"Ahh," Naruto mumbled rubbing her stomach, "I've missed your cooking granny!"

"It's here for you anytime." Pinako replied, taking a drag from her pipe.

"Anyway…Naruto" wincing at Winry's tone of voice, Naruto knew that the topic they had avoided all night was finally going to be brought up.

"Where were you? When you left all you said was you had somewhere to go and would come back someday." Winry said staring down the blonde with a stern look, silently telling her she wasn't going to get out of this one.

Naruto rubbed the back of her head, a nervous smile on her face. How exactly was she to tell Winry that she left to become an assassin, but suddenly found her best friend turned nemesis trying to kill her, and that a group of highly trained ninja's were after a nine-tailed fox, who was, by the way, the king of demons, sealed in her gut?

Running through her choices carefully, Naruto decided on the only option available to her, an option that wouldn't result in the immediate bashing of her head for telling such an absurd story. Naruto lied.

"Um, you see Winry; I had to go back to the village I was born in due to orders by the village's Elders." Well, it was a half-truth, "I didn't really have a choice in the matter, they didn't like that I left the village without notice; even if I was just a baby."

Winry eyed her suspiciously, knowing that wasn't all.

"Well, then why didn't you just ask for permission to stay with Ed and Al?" The sharp, blonde Rockbell asked.

Shit.

"People born in the village are not allowed to live elsewhere until the age of 18." Another lie.

With a skeptical face, the other blonde sat back, nodding in acceptance at the reasoning. While she did so she took a moment to take in the young Uzumaki. Naruto Uzumaki was tanned to perfection, the only flaw being the three scars slashed across both of her cheeks (yet those scars merely added to her exotic beauty). Situated above those scars were a set of wide cerulean eyes, so blue it was like gazing into the never-ending expanses of the sky, and big enough to give her the image of young innocence. The blue-eyed beauty was small for her age, a mere 5'4 (164cm) – about the same size as Ed Winry noted – yet very curvaceous. With what had to D cups Naruto looked every bit a man's fantasy. Adding her long golden hair, set in a high ponytail and reaching past her waist, Naruto was the epitome of beauty.

If only, Winry thought in distaste, she would stop wearing that horrid orange color.

The beautiful Uzumaki was wrapped in a bright orange jumper jacket a black T hiding underneath the blinding color, and her legs clothed in black shorts with a small pouch situated on her waist (something that confused Winry, what was that for?). Trailing her eyes downward, she promptly blinked when she realized what exactly was on Naruto's feet.

A pair of red geta. Winry had never really seen geta before, merely having heard of them in school, but she wondered why Naruto was wearing them. To help her balance perhaps?

Ignoring it Winry felt a small pang of nostalgia hit her. The last time she had seen Naruto, the girl was a scrawny brat. Now she was a young woman, which made her wonder how Naruto saw her. After all, the other was older than her by 2 years, surely she had grown up in those blue eyes?

And [INDEED](https://www.fanfiction.net/story/story_download.php?storytextid=38541781#) to Naruto Winry had grown up. Where before there was a young child, always chasing after her, or crying for her parents, was a strong mechanic. She felt proud in a way only an elder sister would feel, and could tell Winry changed just as much as she had. There was a strength in those eyes, and god, when did Winry become so sharp?

Not to mention that the young Rockbell had filled out quite nicely as well.

"Naruto" Said blonde turned to face the previously silent voice of Pinako Rockbell.

"Are you planning to see your younger brothers?" the elder mechanic asked, a serious glint in her eye, hand tightly holding her pipe.

Hearing the question the blonde sighed [TIREDLY](https://www.fanfiction.net/story/story_download.php?storytextid=38541781#). That was really the point of her leaving home, not to mention some other details not worth thinking about at the moment, and just thinking about it set her nerves on fire.

She didn't know how they'd react to seeing her. She knew Ed would be furious with her, for leaving him like his father had and she hoped she could somehow make it up to him. She hadn't seen him at all within the last 11 years, not even able to go to her late mother's funeral because that was around the time Sasuke had fled the village and her whole being was set upon tracking him down. Thinking on it she felt incredibly guilty, and knew she'd have a lot of explaining to do. Unfortunately she couldn't give them the truth, unless she wanted them to be targeted by the Akatsuki.

Turning her mind away from the disturbing thoughts in favor for answering granny's question the blonde stretched her shoulders. God the journey here was so long…

"Yeah, I plan on seeing them. Not sure what I'll say though, or even what to do when I see them" Naruto explained.

"Well, if you need to know where they are they might be in Central, however it's unlikely because they travel around a lot" Pinako said, taking another drag.

Naruto's eyes darkened. Oh yes, she knew they traveled around a lot. Along the way to the tiny town of Resembool Naruto had heard many stories of the 'Elric Brothers', and the famed 'Fullmetal Alchemist'. She heard many tales of the brother donned in a large suit of armor and the short blonde with the metal arm and leg. What she didn't hear, however, was  _why_ they were in such a state. What had those idiots of hers done while she was away?

A yawn tore her away from her thoughts and glancing at the clock she cursed the time difference of Konoha and Amestris. Smiling at her, Winry offered to help her set up a cot in the guest room, and nodding gratefully Naruto took up that offer.

It wasn't until she was staring at the familiar ceiling of the Rockbells house did she let her tears fall.

* * *

Naruto woke up relatively early the next day and, with a yawn, set about getting ready for the day. Today she was going to hop onto a train to Central in the hope she'll get to see her stupid little brothers (although they were much smarter than her, she was rather fond of this nickname for them), and wanted to take a quick shower and eat breakfast before she left. The trip to Central took about half a day, and so she wanted to leave early so as not to arrive too late. Glancing at the time she nodded to herself before grabbing some supplies to take a shower.

Walking into the kitchen Naruto smiled happily at the smell of eggs and bacon cooking, and quickly sat herself at the table next to the other sleepy blonde.

"Morning!" She said in a chipper tone.

"Mornin" said Winry yawning widely.

It was strange just how different the culture here was from the Elemental Nations, and yet Naruto could adjust to either of them as if she had lived there her entire life – which in both cases she pretty much had. When she was a child and had moved back to Konohagakure she had to learn an  _entire_ different language, and had as a result, been put far behind the others of her class. Add that to the fact that she had grown up [READING BOOKS](https://www.fanfiction.net/story/story_download.php?storytextid=38541781#) rather than training her body had made her an immediate dead last and drop out of the Academy. That was one thing she did not miss. Here she was smart, knowing the language down to perfection as well as the culture and large practice of Alchemy (although she much preferred her kunoichi skills) having grown up practicing and learning as much as possible with her brothers before her abrupt departure. There she had been slow, not understanding a thing, and without a family to support her emotionally and financially (although her mother tried the currency was also very different) leaving her lost and distraught.

When she had first gone to Konoha, the first thing she remembered from her limited memories of her home village was the stares. The hateful mistrusting stares of the villagers had been etched into her brain even before she had moved in with her aunt turned mother, and the thought of returning to such a place had naturally frightened her. So when she did arrive to the heated glares, she decided to ignore them, in favor of pranks and games – which had not worked out very well in her favor.

Losing track of her thoughts to the appetizing meal in front of her she dug in with such ferocity that Winry paused in her waking up to glare viciously and to tell her to have some manners. Naruto ignored her.

"Thanks for the meal!" Naruto exclaimed happily, patting her now satisfied tummy.

"Naruto, what train are you planning to take?" asked Pinako as she picked up the now empty plates.

"Um," Naruto muttered, looking at the clock, "I was hoping the 11:30 one, so I'll have to leave soon."

"What?!" Winry exclaimed standing up "Your leaving already?! I haven't seen you in eleven years and this is how you leave?!"

"Err," Naruto said awkwardly, "Yes?"

"You're worse than Ed and Al!"

"Sorry Winry, but I really want to see them soon." Naruto explained an apologetic smile on her face

Sighing in exasperation, Winry nodded and smiled to show she understood. She had hoped to spend more time with her sister figure, but she did have quite a few orders to finish and understood the others need to see her family.

Grinning happily Naruto immediately set upon getting ready for the trip to Central, a place she had never been to before. The only place she knew in Amestris was Resembool and so she was slightly nervous, and thankful for the large amount of money she had from…sources.

Humming a little tune she gathered her belongings and headed toward the front door for a tearful goodbye.

"See ya Winry, granny! I'm off to see those stupid little brothers of mine!" She said, grinning from ear to ear.

"Bye you short little brat, try not to destroy too much in Central" came the old hags voice.

"No promises!"

"You better visit Naruto!" Winry exclaimed loudly, holding back tears.

Naruto smiled – so there was the crybaby she was so fond of.

"Don't worry Winry, how could I ever stay away!" Naruto replied

Hugging goodbye one last time Naruto walked down the trail that was oh-so familiar to her. Glancing at the sun, she quickly deduced she would have time to stop by her family home before the train left. She felt anticipation as she hurried there, wondering just how bad the young Elric's had burned the place down, and then scowled. Those idiots didn't think to ask her if she needed anything before they sent the place to hell. Spotting the old oak tree she quickly arrived to her destination, and grimaced at was once her home. Where a decently sized house had stood before was now just chunks of broken glass, burnt wood and debris – why hadn't anyone cleaned this place up? Debating on whether or not to rummage through the debris she glanced at the sky and decided if she wanted visit her late mother she would have to go now.

If she had decided to pick her way through the carnage she would have found a very faded alchemic circle that reeked of blood.

* * *

Snoozing on a train bench one Uzumaki Naruto dreamt peacefully of eating ramen while skipping through magical flower fields filled with foxes. Suddenly, one of the foxes stopped galloping and turned toward her with a twinkle in its small eye. Confused, dream Naruto tilted her head and the fox suddenly head-butted her in the stomach with the force of an Akamichi chasing after Barbecue.

"Oof!" Naruto awoke abruptly to find a small child in her lap.

"What the..?"

The child looked at her and squeaked before running off in search of his mother.

"What was that about?" her mumbling's went unanswered and glancing out the train [WINDOW](https://www.fanfiction.net/story/story_download.php?storytextid=38541781#) she blinked to find that she had arrived at her destination.

Silently thanking the bastard child from hell Naruto quickly gathered her belongings and stepped off the train, grabbing a map of Central as she did so. Debating whether to head straight to Headquarters or get a hotel room, the Jinchuuriki made her way through the crowd quickly on balanced and easy steps. God she loved her geta, the things have helped improve her stealth a hundred fold.

Deciding that the room could wait the blonde quickly called over a taxi and, sitting back in her seat, wondered what she should say to her younger brothers.

* * *

One Roy Mustang grumbled irritably as he slowly made progress through his paperwork, wondering if the bullet through his head would be worth setting the papers on fire. Glancing at Hawkeye he made a silent decision that he did, in fact, want to become Fuhrer and [CONTINUED](https://www.fanfiction.net/story/story_download.php?storytextid=38541781#) his work diligently, albeit much grumbling. Sighing as Fullmetal continued to chat it up with his subordinates he nearly giggled in glee when his phone suddenly rang. A distraction!

"Colonel Roy Mustang's [OFFICE](https://www.fanfiction.net/story/story_download.php?storytextid=38541781#)" he answered, a stern tilt in his voice.

"Sir, there is a young blonde at the desk to see Mr. Fullmetal" a woman's voice replied immediately.

Roy frowned. That had to be Winry, but why would she be here? As far as he was aware there was nothing wrong with Fullmetal, unless she came to visit as a surprise. Just to be sure…

"What does she look like?" he asked

"A blonde ponytail with blue eyes" the sergeant replied (and failed to mention the strange scars on the blonde's cheeks).

Definitely Winry.

"Send her up."

"Yes sir."

"What was that about sir?" Hawkeye asked as she sorted the [COMPLETED](https://www.fanfiction.net/story/story_download.php?storytextid=38541781#) files on his desk and handed them to Falman.

"It would seem Winry is in Central."

"What?!" a voice suddenly exclaimed rushing over to slam his hands – there was a metallic clang – on his superiors desk. Roy merely raised his eyebrow at the blonde.

"What? Can't handle a girl Fullmetal?" he asked tauntingly. He smirked when Fullmetal went red.

"Rotten bastard,  _no one_ can handle Winry!"

Roy was about quip a reply, but was interrupted by the click of a gun behind his head. Sighing in resignation he reluctantly went back to his paperwork, and Hawkeye lowered her gun back to its holster.

Ed smirked in accomplishment and was about to turn around when he heard a sudden gasp from behind him, catching everyone's attention immediately.

"N-nee-chan..?" he heard Al stutter and felt his own eyes widen.

' _Nee-chan?'_ That could only be-

"Yo Al! Long time no see and - what the hell are you doing in that suit of armor?"

Flushing Ed turned around to face his elder sister. How dare she! How dare she turn up out of the blue, as if nothing had changed?! She hadn't even bothered to come to their mother's funeral just like  _him._ Yet, eleven years later she shows up out of the blue as if everything was fine. She hadn't even replied to a [SINGLE](https://www.fanfiction.net/story/story_download.php?storytextid=38541781#) of Al's letters, something he would never forgive – Al's heart was broken and nobody messes with his little brother. And then he heard her question.

' _Shit, we didn't tell her.'_

"U-um…it's comfortable." Was the younger's stuttered reply.

"Oh? That's interesting." The eldest blonde laughed, yet her eyes were sharp.

"Edward, Alphonse, who is this?" Hawkeye's strict voice reached them.

"This," Edward said motioning his arms toward Naruto, his tone bitter "Is Naruto. Our elder sister."

Breda and Havoc spluttered, Hawkeye's eyes widened, Falman began coughing into his hand while Fury choked on his coffee. Mustang merely sighed [TIREDLY](https://www.fanfiction.net/story/story_download.php?storytextid=38541781#) - with these two he wasn't really surprised of anything and now he had another blonde Elric to deal with. He could sense a lot of paperwork in the future and nearly whimpered.

"I was not aware you had an elder sister Fullmetal." Mustang's voice came out sternly, even while he felt like the heavens had just sentenced him to a life of hell.

"Yeah, well, I didn't think it necessary to make you aware." Ed's voice came out bitingly, obviously bitter and upset with his senior sibling.

"Nice to see you to chibi!" Naruto's voice came out in a chipper rush.

"WHO ARE YOU CALLING SO SMALL AN ANT COULD CRUSH HIM?! YOU'RE THE SAME SIZE AS ME!" Edward promptly blew up, hands waving up and down, ending to finally point at Naruto in such a manner to say 'I-will-end-everything-you-ever-cared-for-should-you-call-me-that-again'. Naruto smirked at him, ignoring the jab at her own height in favor for enjoying the decent reaction.

Edward didn't know what to do. He was angry with Naruto for showing up after all of this time, but couldn't confront her about anything just yet because the smug bastard would likely hold it against him. Al, on the other hand seemed delighted to see his elder sister, talking animatedly – or as animatedly as a suit of armor could – with her and asking her question after question. When she had left, a hole was ripped in their family; she had just left with promises to meet again, nothing more, nothing less. Edward had felt betrayed, that someone so close to him, who he had known his  _entire_ life would just up and leave him as if all their time together was nothing. Al had been heartbroken and had cried every night for two whole months before Ed had helped him to move on, but even then Al would sniffle and become distraught at the mention of his precious nee-chan – something Ed would never forgive. His mom had tried to fill the void, but it was all for naught; nothing was the same after that, from playing to eating. Plus, he hadn't understood why she had left, he was a mere five years old while Al was only four, and even today he didn't know what to make of her leaving like that.

"What are you doing here?" he asked the female with a slight snarl.

"What? Can't a girl visit her younger brothers?" She asked jovially, then her voice softened. "I promised I would."

Ed's temper immediately flared, and before he could stop himself he found his fists clenched, his [TEETH](https://www.fanfiction.net/story/story_download.php?storytextid=38541781#) grinding and his mouth ready to rip her a new one.

"Yeah,  _eleven years ago!"_ His voice came out in furious hiss, eyes narrowing in anger – but she could see it. The pain in them. No one could hide their pain from her, it was one of her specialties after enduring so much herself.

"You didn't even come to moms funeral!" he found himself barking out, the accusation unwilling to be held back for a better time. He wanted answers, and he wanted them  _now dammit._

A deep pain entered her eyes, a look that immediately set off alarms in Roy's head, and she replied in a strong voice underlining with pain,

"I'm sorry about that. I really am, it's just," her eyes lowered here, "a lot was happening around that time."

Memories flashed before her eyes – the Chunnin exams, Orochimaru, Jiji's death, Sasuke leaving, fighting, pain, death, sadness, anger. And then finding out her mother was dead.

* * *

_Tears plopped heavily upon the thick parchment that had been opened mere moments before. They wouldn't stop, not matter how hard she tried to stem the flow – they fell and fell, spurred on by her sobbing and shaking body, by her agony. Why? She asked herself, why, is everything happening to me? Couldn't she catch a break?_

_Memories of the precious person she lost crashed into her like a Tsunami. Meeting her at a tender age of 3, helping with chores, being praised for being a good big sister, being held and loved after a nightmare, feeling happy and warm. That person was gone now. That person would never return – she could never be loved by that person again, show her gratitude to that person, love them in return. And so the tears fell, as she collapsed on herself shaking and sobbing on the floor of her small kitchen._

_So much had happened already. She had tried to stay strong, for Sakura, for Konohamaru, for Kakashi-sensei, so she had held in her tears, she had promised that she would bring her best friend back no matter what. She would train and become strong enough to not only bring him back but to also protect her loved ones in Konoha as well as in Amestris. Words from her mother flowed through her brain,_

" _Naruto, I don't mind you leaving. This is your decision, just promise me one thing." The voice had been kind, yet serious "No matter what happens while you're gone, no matter how much things may hurt or seem impossible. No matter what life throws at you, overcome them. And smile."_

_And so, sitting on the cold tile of her kitchen floor, Naruto gave in for the first time. She cried at the agony of finding out that a bijuu was sealed in her stomach, at the betrayal of her best friend, at the torn apart team that had been so close, at the loss of the person she had the privilege to call_ mom.

_When she finally collapsed into a dreamless sleep from the exhaustion of so much crying there was smile on her face, because she knew; she would get through this for her mother, for her team, and for her family._

* * *

About to snap back Ed opens his mouth but was interrupted by the door suddenly slamming open and a certain Lt. Colonel entering.

"Yo Roy! I've got some new pictures of my precious Elicia~!" Maes Hughes, in all his glory, exclaimed entering the tense room.

Sensing the mood, he stopped and looked around, stopping on the newest addition to the Elric siblings.

"Is this a bad time?"

' _It's always a bad time!'_ Mustang shouted in his mind, outwardly he merely rubbed the bridge of his nose in exasperation. He was going to get gray hairs at this rate.

Huffing, Edward stalked out of the room, his younger brother chasing after him with a 'Nii-san!' and leaving behind a blinking Naruto, eye's once again bright and happy.

"Well," she said matter-of-factly, "that went a lot better than expected"


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahh, sorry (not sorry) this chapters so short xD

Whistling lightly Naruto let her eyes wander around the room taking in all the flabbergasted expressions. Eyes landing on the man who had interrupted her nice little reunion she leaned over to get a good look at the picture he was holding.

"She's adorable!" Naruto said giving a bright smile to the man who immediately brightened like she had just said that he would be given all the money in the world and began spouting off words about his precious daughter and  _how many pictures does he have?!_ But she nodded along adding a comment here and there because the little girl in the picture really was adorable.

Thinking back to the reunion she had just had she let her tense shoulders relax. It really did go a lot better than she had planned – she had been expecting more shouting and maybe even a few way ward fists, but the brief confrontation she had had instead was much more welcomed. That didn't dispel her unease and guilt.

Meanwhile one Roy Mustang was staring at his best friend with an expression akin to contempt. Really, Maes always found the worst moments to wave those photos around like a circus monkey. Dark eyes shifted to the girl who was apparently the Elric's sister and he couldn't help but appreciate her figure (a moment later a harsh swat was given to his head via his Lieutenant) and took in any special features he could find.

Her posture was straight, her shoulders lined perfectly across and she held herself with grace. She knew how to fight then and was confident in her abilities – he made a mental note to arrange for paperwork regarding damage to the city to be sent to his office (he would take no chances dammit!). Her eyes were more narrowed than her brother's and he couldn't help but wonder if she Xingese.

Her face was set into a wide smile as she talked to Maes about the pictures in his hand but her eyes were slightly narrowed, her jaw a bit too tense and her fists slightly curled and he was slightly put on edge. Despite being the Elric's sister he didn't know if he could trust her, and if Ed's earlier contempt was anything to go by then there were very likely going to be problems in the future.

When there was a lull in Maes and the girls' conversation Havoc cut in with a quick, "So you're the boss's sister?"

Blinking at the other blonde she deduced by 'boss' he meant one of her brothers and smiled widely at him, eyes crinkling shut.

"Yep! Uz- Err, Elric Naruto at your service!" She chirped, "And who are you again?"

* * *

A short blonde huffed and puffed (and blew a house down) as he scurried down the sidewalk, muttering curses under his breath, a large set of armor chasing after him calling 'Nii-san!' while apologizing to those he bumped into. He was  _so angry!_  The shear arrogance of her, showing up like that – as if – as if, she had any right to! Stomping his foot he turned sharply to plop onto a bench situated just beside him, arms crossing and scowl taking up his whole face.

The suit of armor seemed relieved at this change of pace and gently sat down beside the short boy, not saying anything and only offering comfort. Several moments of silence passed between the two brothers as they both thought about what this could mean for them. Finally the shorter of the two opened his mouth not exactly sure what to say, but  _needing_ to say it.

"This," he said, arms waving around in emphases "doesn't change anything."

"I know."

"I won't forgive her."

"Nii-san –"

"No Al, I  _can't_  forgive her. She ripped us apart, ripped  _mom_ apart when she left and that's not something I can just forget."

Al seemed to contemplate this before stating tentatively, "Ed…she's family"

Ed didn't deem this a response, merely standing up and strutting away. Sighing in exasperation Al stood up as well trailing after his brother.

"Where are you going?" He called.

"To the library!" was the sharp response.

* * *

" _Naruto, this is your new little brother, Edward." Said the kind woman, a warm smile on her face._

' _Naruto' peered down at the small figure huddled behind the woman's dress. He was so small, with chubby hands and a chubby face to match. She found it to be quiet cute._

" _Naruto, as the older sister it's your[JOB](https://www.fanfiction.net/story/story_download.php?storytextid=40092071#) to watch after your little brother, to protect and love him, and to teach him new things."_

_Naruto blinked up into the kind eyes. She didn't exactly know what was going on, just days ago she was living in the orphanage when suddenly a man with spiky white hair came and took her away. She was so happy to be away from the mean adults and noisy children she didn't care where he took her. Next thing she knew she was standing outside of a huge (from her perspective) home and a kind woman and a stiff man was welcoming her, telling her they were her new parents. She had never been so happy in her life._

_Once again looking down at the younger boy Naruto nodded her head. She was confused and kind of scared but she would take in the kind woman's (her mother, her mind whispered) words and protect the cute boy (her brother, her mind told her, and wow wasn't that a nice thought?). She hoped he would accept her._

_Kneeling in front of her new found brother she offered a goofy grin._

" _Hi!" she said, "I'm Naruto!"_

' _Ed' stared up at her curiously before smiling happily and Naruto knew she would forever love and protect him, just like her mother wanted._

* * *

An hour after her brother stalked away from her Naruto was just leaving the office she had found them in. She had been given an introduction to Ed's co-workers and found them all to be highly amusing and fun to be around. They had seemed to warm up to her quite nicely – except, maybe, the dark haired man who was Ed's commanding [OFFICER](https://www.fanfiction.net/story/story_download.php?storytextid=40092071#). He seemed to be wary and cautious of her, obviously not knowing what to expect or how to react to her sudden appearance, which fit her just well because she wasn't sure what to expect from the military of Amestris either. She was worried for her brothers  _(what were they having them do? And why did they join?)_ and knew military life wasn't easy in the slightest.

A heavy rain began to fall and Naruto huffed at the sky. This moment of distraction cost her and next thing she knew she was sprawled on the floor, glaring up at a huge dark skinned man.

"Sorry," he said, helping her up before turning and stalking off. Naruto glared at his back.

"Sorry my ass" she muttered, wiping down her shorts she [CONTINUED](https://www.fanfiction.net/story/story_download.php?storytextid=40092071#) on her merry way, ignoring the offending rain before stopping abruptly. She didn't have anywhere to stay. Cursing, she dragged her hand through her pony tail thinking of what she should do. She didn't want to use up all of her Amestrian money, and honestly, she didn't even know where a hotel would be. Her thoughts were cut off when the rain suddenly stopped pouring overhead.

Confused she tilted her head up to see why the weather changed so suddenly only to be met with the pitch black color of an umbrella. Blinking, she trailed the arm holding the umbrella to the face of the man she had been talking with earlier (Maes Hughes her mind supplied). Grinning at him, she turned around to talk to him more properly.

"Let me guess," He said, a chuckle just underneath his breath, "you don't have a place to stay?"

Laughing sheepishly she nodded while rubbing her head. She hadn't thought this far ahead, and she blushed at the amusement she found in the other's eyes.

"Come on, you can stay with me and my lovely wife Gracia!" he chattered with glee, "You'll absolutely love her, and don't forget my little Elicia-"

But Naruto was no longer listening, eyes widened in shock. This man, who didn't know her, was offering to let her stay in his home,  _with his family?!_  What kind of man was he?!

"I-is that okay?" she stuttered, blinking madly at him.

Happy chattering coming to a halt he smiled softly at her.

"Of course," he said, as if what he was offering was [COMPLETELY](https://www.fanfiction.net/story/story_download.php?storytextid=40092071#) normal, "Your Ed's sister aren't you? And despite how he acted I can tell you care deeply for him."

Understanding filled and her she smiled happily at him, taking a step forward.

"Okay!" she said, "and on the way there tell me more about your family!"


	4. Chapter 4

_“I don’t want to though!” she shouted, tears budding in her eyes._

_“I’m sorry Naru-chan but I don’t have a choice in this matter.”_

_“But you’re the Hokage; they have to listen to you!”_

_The old man smiled sadly at her, “That’s not quiet how it works” he explained softly._

_“But…but I want to stay with my family” she cried out, “I’m Ed and Al’s big sister you know, I have to look after them.”_

_She was crying now, she couldn’t help it. She was only 7 and the prospect of being forced from her own home – the only place she was accepted - terrified her. It was sudden and very unexpected; the kind old man came to her and told her the council of her birth village were demanding her return to Konohagukure. He told her she deserved the truth and gave her as much information about her birth place as he could._

_“Naru-chan, in my home we have mighty warriors known as Shinobi. They are strong and fiercely protective of their home and families.”_

_“Why are you telling me this?” she sniffled_

_“Because I’m offering you the chance to become one of these fierce warriors” he explained, a strange sadness in his eyes._

_“If I do,” she said slowly “will I be strong enough to protect my family?”_

_He smiled at her._

_“Yes.”_

* * *

 

Yawning tiredly, Naruto trudged through the streets of Central city cradling a warm cup of coffee in one hand. The Hughe’s were very accommodating and Naruto found herself liking the family more and more. After bidding farewell with promises of visiting, Naruto found herself wandering the streets of the city, not having a particular destination in mind.

Maes told her that the Central Library had been burned down and important notes that Ed and Al were seeking burned with it, so she likely wouldn’t see them for a while as they were searching for an alternate way to find their notes. She wasn’t sure what she wanted to do today. She was almost desperate to see her siblings but understood they (or Ed, if you wanted to specific) needed time to process things. It didn’t make it any easier though, the rejection fresh and scalding.

Of course she knew they didn’t understand why she left, and so soon after their own father left them, so the pain was so much stronger for them – like a deep wound refusing to heal. Words could never explain how sorry she was for that, but she wouldn’t change it. Not one bit. Because she left she was stronger, she had more people to protect. She endured so many painful moments, traumatizing situations, and came out better than before, stronger, smarter. She wanted to protect them from the things she went through – even if they hated her for it.

And she _really_ missed Konoha. When she left Amestris she thought she would hate the village, and in some ways she did, but that was before she made her ‘precious people’ – all of whom she would gladly die for. Now, with the knowledge that she would likely never see them again – and if she did it would be on opposite sides of the battlefield - she was left with a feeling of deep sadness and loneliness.  Over the years she came to see Konoha as her home, even if they saw her as nothing more than a monster. Even now she wanted to become Hokage, to lead her village to greatness, to protect them from any foes that may arise. So much for that.

Sighing up at the sky, she sipped her coffee and decided that walking around the city wouldn’t be too bad. Maybe. Hopefully.

* * *

There was a deep set to her shoulders and a heavy frown line between her brows. That was the first thing Uchiha Sasuke noticed when he walked into the room.  It was obvious something was troubling Lady Tsunade, and he had a good guess as to what.

He could remember clearly when he was informed of what happened to his blonde teammate by a distraught Sakura. He…well he didn’t know how he felt. Confused, certainly (why did she leave? She loved Konoha), and more than a little angry at her hypocrisy, but that didn’t explain _why_ he felt sad, angry, _hurt._

He had been so _furious_ when he woke up in the hospital after his and Naruto’s battle; apparently he had been cut by Sakura’s poisoned kunai when Naruto rescued her. He hadn’t even noticed, so intent he was on the stupid blonde. He was more than a little miffed that he was brought down by a _kunai_ of all things, but that didn’t change that he was stuck in the god forsaken village. He half expected Hebi to retrieve him, but after what happened with Karin he wasn’t holding out too much hope.

Over the next 6 months he slowly integrated himself back into his former teammate’s lives. He was given a trial and his punishment was to never be reinstated as a Konoha Shinobi again, and to be trailed by 3 Anbu at all times until he ‘redeemed’ himself. As it was, if it wasn’t for Naruto he definitely would have been thrown into prison indefinitely, or worse, been executed.

It had been hard at first; he hated Konoha with a passion and wanted to see its untimely demise, but several months into Naruto’s ‘visits’ she started their first conversation with ‘as cliché as it is we need to talk’. She then told him that destroying Konoha was pointless – it would only add to the rage and pain he harbored. She promised that when she became Hokage she would change the corrupt ninja world into something better for the future generations. He didn’t say anything.

That Naruto who had been so determined to make the world a better place wouldn’t flee her home unprovoked. So then why? Why did she leave so suddenly? He didn’t understand, the only explanation was that she was forced against her will, but upon analyzing her house and the note left behind it was determined she left on her own.

Glancing around the room he could tell the others thoughts were along the same line as his.

“As you may or may not know Uzumaki Naruto has disappeared from her home,” Tsunade started “and it was determined she fled purposely.”

Here she stopped to give each ninja in the room a measuring look, “I have summoned you here for a retrieval mission. The _council”_ a curl of the lips “decided that if this mission results in failure Uzumaki Naruto will be declared an S-rank missing Nin with an issued kill on sight order. They don’t want to take any chances.”

Sasuke held in his urge to scowl. They just don’t know when to give up, even with Danzo dead.

“Uchiha Sasuke, Haruna Sakura, Hatake Kakashi, Nara Shikumaru, Yamanaka Ino, Hyuuga Hinata, Inuzuka Kiba, and Aburame Shino, you are being assigned this S-rank retrieval mission codenamed GuLF. Do not fail.”

Judging by the looks of those around the room, failure was not something they would allow. Sasuke himself was confused, he shouldn’t be here – he should be the last choice for this mission. He was more likely to flee as soon as he left the village, not help his wardens. Heedless of his thoughts, Shizune handed out the mission files and Sasuke quickly leafed through it, Sharingan activated.

“You leave for your mission in two weeks. Your destination is the country of Amestris, and you will need all the time you can get to learn the Amestrian language. Within these folders is information on the Country and its inhabitants. Kochi in the Library will set you up to begin learning Amestrian.”

“A-ano,” squeaked Hinata, “why is Naru-chan in this country? She’s never mentioned it before; does she have a connection there?”

Tsunade nodded, a frown tugging at her mouth. “I found some files from the previous Hokage suggesting that she has family there. Specifically, two siblings.”

There was some muttering and shifting, this was obvious news to all. Sasuke hadn’t ever heard anything about family from Naruto – it was a known fact that she was an orphan. Why did she hide this from them? Hinata looked slightly hurt that she didn’t know something so important about Naruto, her best friend.

“That was all that was reported; any details on these siblings were not noted.” Tsunade sighed, rubbing the bridge of her nose. She nodded once, linking her fingers under her chin.

“Shikimaru, I’m putting you in charge of this mission. Proceed how you see fit.” Shikimaru sighed, nodding.

“Understood. Man, what a drag…”

“Dismissed, Sasuke stay behind.” She barked.

The others began to file out of the room, glancing at Sasuke, likely wondering the same thing as he was. He could feel the distrustful stares, the uncertainty fogging their minds. He didn’t blame them. Once the room was empty Tsunade reached under her desk for her ‘secret’ stash of sake.

“You’re wondering why I’m assigning you to this mission.” It wasn’t a question. Scowling Tsunade gave him a _look._

“The _only_ reason I’m putting you on this mission is because you’re the only person in the world Naruto will listen to. She’d go to hell for you, went through hell for you, you ungrateful brat. The council thinks this is a good chance to redeem yourself, I think that’s a load of shit.” She took a long sip from her bottle. Tsunade had a very strong dislike of Sasuke, and the two could hardly stand being in the same room. “You’re the last Uchiha, they want nothing more than to get on your good side.”

“The others have orders to put you down the _moment_ you prove to be a danger to this mission or the others. Remember that.”

A long moment passed between the two, both glaring fiercely at the other.

“Scram.”

He trudged out of the office, a scowl set on his face. This mission was going to be a real pain in the ass, but Tsunade was right – he owed Naruto. He could quickly learn this new language with his Sharingan (Naruto vouched for him to not have them sealed) and would take the time given to learn all he could about Amestris. He _would_ bring her back, he had to.

He wanted to see the Konoha Naruto dreamed of.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> W-What do you mean this is super late? *sweats nervously* I meant to have it up sooner, I swear! I just got…sidetracked *glances away* I was actually hoping to have this up during Winter break but shit came up xD
> 
> My mom is sick so I’m home taking care of her. Decided to type this up while she sleeps…
> 
> I’ve been watching a lot of Gintama lately…is it showing through my writing? I wonder…Also, I don’t have a beta so I apologize for any and all mistakes you find! I tried my best to avoid them.

Human Lives. That was the price for creating a Philosopher's Stone. He knew he shouldn’t be surprised, something like the Philosopher’s Stone would require heavy compensation to create, but it was still there – weighing heavily upon his mind, almost palpable. The Devil’s Research…how true that title was.

“Nii-san, you should eat something” Al said softly from his perch behind the couch.

“No thanks,” he replied absently, adding after a beat “Awful isn’t it?”

“It’s like we try so hard to grasp the truth but always slips away,” he said, hand reaching toward the ceiling, grabbing at nothing “and now that we finally found it it’s too dangerous to hold” he brought his hand down to cover his face. Al said nothing.

“I’m beginning to think this is God’s way of punishing people who’ve committed taboos” he scoffed “I wonder if…it’ll always be like this”

Alphonse remained silent

“You know Al, there’s something I’ve wanted to say, but I guess I’ve just been too afraid to say it.” Ed muttered softly, hesitantly.

“What is it?” Al asked turning, curiosity bright in his tone,

“I-“he was interrupted by a loud banging on the door followed by a booming voice.

“Elric brother’s, I know you’re in there! Open up, it’s the Major!”

“What do we do?!” Al asked, panicked.

“We ignore him, that’s what” Ed replied right before the door burst open and Major Armstrong burst in with a flood tears.

“Edward Elric, I know what it said!” he sobbed, sparkles brilliantly shining around him.

“AHHHHHH!!!”

“How tragic!” the man yelled dramatically, tears gushing “to think the legendary Philosopher's Stone held such a horrible secret!”

Ed glared at his ‘body guards’, the vein in his forehead ticking furiously, who looked away guiltily, Ross raising her hands in defeat.

“Were really sorry” Ross said, pointedly looking away, “it’s hard to stay quiet when someone like that that asks you” finished Brosh.

“Imagine the military being behind something like that!” Armstrong continued shouting “the truth can be worse than we bargained for…”

_The truth…_

* * *

She was bored. So bored. She was an energetic person by nature – those who even remotely understood her knew that, hell, even strangers could tell! Sitting around for a week with nothing to do was _killing_ her – at first it was fun, a nice relaxing break scouting the city, memorizing the nooks and crannies, mentally marking any paths that could work as a quick escape should the need for one arise. But she soon became bored and found herself lazing around the Hughes’s residence, wishing desperately for something to alleviate her boredom. She couldn’t train in such a crowded city, not even the underground world had a vacant quiet place she could use, already filled to the brim with homeless and greedy thugs willing to do anything for a quick Cenz. 

What was she thinking about? Right. Boredom. She was so bored her mind kept wandering.

Sighing up at the ceiling she rolled into a sitting position to peer over the couch where she lay. Elysia was playing with her dolls and Gracia was preparing dinner, Maes would be home soon and while the man was interesting enough to talk to, talking wasn’t what she needed. She wanted some action, for something _interesting_ to happen. She was tired of sitting on her ass all day. Scowling at the ceiling once more she made up her mind. Bouncing lightly as she stood from the couch, she hummed to herself as she made her way toward the door.

“I’m going out” she called, slipping on her geta.

“Are you sure?” Gracia tittered worriedly, glancing out the window “It’s getting awfully dark out…”

“I’ll be fine” Naruto waved off her concern, “just a quick walk around the neighborhood.”

The night was silent and cool and Naruto quickly took to the roofs, making her way toward the park where she would hopefully get a chance to meditate. As she leapt from tile to tile she let her mind wander. The past week had been surprisingly peaceful; she had been expecting the tracker-nins to be on her tail already, but she was grateful she didn’t have to deal with them quite yet. The thought of facing her friends (for she had no doubt it would be her friends sent to retrieve her; who else could convince her to come home?) sent a stab of agony through her heart and a dull throb start in her chest, a phantom pain from years long past.

She was distracted from her disturbing thoughts by the shifting wind, bringing with it a strange smell; the smell of blood. Of course in a city such as this, such a scent was not uncommon, but something about this particular smell caught her attention, and she could feel her metaphorical hackles rise, her teeth barring in a silent snarl. Shifting on the tiles she changed her course toward the source it was originating from, eventually coming upon a fairly large building, a facility by the looks of it, which was barred.

Sniffing again, she nodded at herself, the smell was faint but it was definitely coming from here, and more than that she could hear fighting just ahead of her. Nimbly jumping onto the wall, careful to avoid the barbed wire, she took in the scene before her.

_Al?!_

What was her brother doing here? He was fighting another man in a suit of armor, a dead guard lying a few feet away. The duo didn’t seem to notice her so Naruto jumped to the ground, sticking close the shadows, ready to intervene at any second. She wanted to see how her brother faired against this opponent. Maybe she could find answers by observing them…

“I kill and so I am, as long as I know that it’s all I need to prove to myself I’ve always been me” the man said, cackling wildly before he ran toward Alphonse, butchers knife raised. They exchanged blows, Al on the defensive.

“What’s wrong little puppet?”

“I told you, I’m not a puppet!” Al shouted, pushing the other back.

_What are they talking about?_

“So you keep saying, but how can you know for sure? How can you be _certain_ you were ever really alive..?” The armored man cackled.

“There’s one way to prove you’re not just a puppet made from scraps of armor…”

“Huh?” Al sounded slightly desperate.

“You have one too don’t you? A blood seal. Destroy it, go ahead, do it yourself - if you die you were a real boy all along just like you want to believe!”

_‘A blood seal?”_  eyes widening at the implications, her mind ran through several scenarios in which Al would require a blood seal, each more worse than the last. _They wouldn’t have…they know better than that._

_But,_ her traitorous mind whispered, _grief can send even the most level headed person insane. It can set even the youngest child ablaze, and destroy everything in its path. A gateway to anger and hate, resetting a cycle of agony and horror. Look at Sasuke._

Clenching her fists in anger she resolutely shook her head; she refused to believe it.

She was once again interrupted from her thoughts by a loud gunshot. Pushing herself further against the wall she focused her attention on the fight before her. She couldn’t get distracted!

“Stop right there!” shouted a short haired woman, a young man beside her, both dressed in military garb “Or the next one puts a hole in your head”

“This isn’t going quite as planned.” Said skull-face, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly, before a loud rumbling began to emit from the building, chunks and pieces falling in tandem.

  _‘This place is gonna blow…’_ Naruto thought, jumping on the ledge of the wall, trusting her brother to get away from the building in time.

“What are you doing? Get away from there!” Naruto heard the woman yell, and turned.

“But my brother’s still in there!” Al shouted desperately.

_He’s what?_ She thought frantically, _that idiot!_

Jumping from the ledge she began running toward the building, planning to pull Ed from the fire, the copious amounts of dust hiding her presence from those present. She could hear Alphonse yelling for his brother but ignored it, almost at the wall, when it exploded. Covering her face from the debris she watched as a man carried Ed out to safety. She felt herself stiffen, something about him was…wrong. He felt like death, and she ached to get away from him; his very presence made her instincts scream. The fact that he was carrying Ed, her little brother, who was still a child, made her snarl in anger and her claws dug into her hands, causing blood to run freely. Kyuubi shifted inside her and she clutched her stomach at the unsettling feeling. He rarely moved and when he did she could feel it throughout her very soul. Shaking her head she forced her eyes forward.

Sticking close to the dust her eyes trailed worriedly over Ed, taking in his bloodied appearance.

So _that’s_ what she smelled. Her enhanced senses must have picked up the blood-scent of her kin and sent danger signals to her mind, her instincts demanding she protect the children of her family.

“His life’s not in danger, but he’s lost a lot of blood. You should get him to a hospital as soon as possible.” The green haired person commented, a smile on his face “Also, you should keep a closer eyes on him and stop him from doing these crazy things. He’s an important resource.”

Naruto glared at him, _what do you mean ‘important resource’ you bastard! I’ll claw your eyes out!_ Looking around she made her way out of the buildings vicinity. Ed would be okay; she had to get out of there. It wouldn’t bode well if the others saw her.

Jumping on the walls ledge one last time, she spared a glance backward before leaping away, not noticing the acid eyes she left in her wake, following her.

* * *

The next day Maes informed her that her brother was in the hospital and her worry was quickly replaced with anger.

_Those idiots, when I get my hands on them..!_ She thought furiously, walking angrily down the hall of the nicely sized hospital, only pausing when something glinting caught her eye. Looking down a dark corridor she blinked when she saw Al sitting alone, staring at his hands folded in his lap, then frowned when she remembered the conversation she (over)heard the previous day.

“Hey Al!” she smiled, walking toward him.

“Nee-san?” he said, surprised, “What are you doing here?”

“Well, I heard Ed got hurt doing something stupid, so I came by to give him a proper scolding.” She winked towered him in a conspiratorial manner.

Al giggled, “I’m sure Nii-san will be looking forward to your visit then”

Naruto laughed, “What about you? It’s been a while since I’ve seen you.”

Al looked down at this, “I’m…” he clenches his fists “I’m confused. I don’t know what to think anymore, has my whole life been a lie?” he desperately looked up at her.

_A lie…_

Naruto hummed, sitting beside him, “Well I don’t know about your life being a lie,” she said calmly, laying her hand to rest on his “but until you figure it out you can lean on me. I’ll help you shoulder your burdens!”

“Nee-san…”

“That’s what big sisters are for!” she grinned, her eyes shutting with the force of it.

_Is this person really my sister?_

Naruto seemed to sense that he wanted to be alone, and patted his hand.

“Well anyway, I better go tell that brother of your off!” she said, bouncing off the bench to make her way toward Ed’s room, much calmer now.

Opening the door she blinked when she saw Winry pulling Ed’s cheek, the two yelling at each other. Winry brightened when she noticed her, while Ed darkened and she snorted in amusement.

“Naruto!” Winry chirped, “I wasn’t expecting to see you again so soon.”

“Likewise” Naruto said, hugging the other.

Ed huffed.

“What are you doing here?” he muttered, crossing his arms and glaring darkly.

Steeling herself, she took a deep breath before putting her hands on her hips, returning the glare ten-fold.

“What am _I_ doing here?” she said, all calm before the storm “what are _you_ doing here brat? You should be thankful you’re already hospitalized, or I’d rip you a new one! Honestly, worrying me like that..!” it was rather frightening how much of a mother-hen she sounded.

“You better not do something so stupid again or so help me!” She scolded, raising her fist in intimidation, her eyes dark.

“Oi, who is this? That isn’t Naruto…” Winry stated blandly “she’s too out of character.”

“Tch, you can’t tell me what to do!” Ed shouted back

“Eh? You stupid brat!”

“And who is this young lady?” the forgotten Armstrong asked.

Winry sighed.

“Yo! Ed, is it true you brought a pretty young blonde to your room to service you?” Maes Hughes said happily, much later after everyone settled down.

Naruto burst into laughter while Ed collapsed

“She’s my automail mechanic nothing more!” Ed screeched

“This is turning into a gathering of freaks” Winry said nonchalantly.

Naruto continued laughing as Winry and Maes introduced themselves to each other.

“Oh yeah, you should be happy to know I just found out that you don’t need to be kept under guard for much longer.”

“Great!” Ed grinned

“Guard..?” Naruto muttered

“Hold it!” Winry yelled, Naruto quickly backing her up “Just how much trouble have you two gotten into this time?!”

Ed laughed nervously “Well you see it’s…” he looked away “it’s none of your business”

“None of my business?!” Naruto interrupted, seething “The hell it’s not! I’m you sister dammit, what the fuck happened?”

They both fell into another argument, Winry glaring at them, muttering something about idiots.

“Anyway, I’ll see you tomorrow.” Winry said picking up her bag, “I have to find a place to stay tonight.”

“There’s no need for that, why don’t you spend the night at my place!” Maes inputted happily.

“Really?”

“Of course! Naruto is already staying with us and my daughter and wife would love to have you!”

“Yeah, you’ll love Gracia and little Elysia” said Naruto grabbing one of Winry’s arms, Maes grabbing the other.

“We insist!” they both said simultaneously.

“Do you really have to drag me?!”

* * *

“Um, Mr. Hughes, what’s this all about?” Winry asked in bewilderment

“I’m glad you asked! Today happens to be my darling Elysia’s birthday!”

Laughing nervously, Winry knelt in front of the little girl, “How exciting, how old are you today?”

“I’m two” the child chirped happily, proudly displaying two of her fingers before she paused for a moment “No, I’m three!”

“So adorable!” Maes and Winry shouted, swaying while Naruto choked on her drink.

The rest of the evening went on without a hitch, Elysia playing with her new toys with Naruto on the floor while Winry and Maes had a private conversation. The blonde could tell the discussion was serious and left them to it – she knew there were something’s she couldn’t provide to her family and that this was one of them. She smiled as Elysia went to play with the other children.

* * *

“It’s not like I asked for this body Nii-san!” she heard Al shout

“S-sorry…” Ed muttered guiltily “Your right, it’s my fault that it happened, but I’ll make it right! I’ll get you back into your real body, you’ll see Al!”

Naruto leaned against the wall outside of her brothers’ room, her eyes shadowed by her bangs. Her heart twinged and her stomach bottomed out, she had hoped against hope that she was wrong but it had all been for naught. Overwhelming guilt fell over her – if she had been there for them this never would have happened, they’d be happy and safe..!

“…my soul and my memories are really artificial constructions that _you_ created!” he shouted.

“You, Winry, Granny, even Nee-san, you’ve been lying to me all along haven’t you! What do you have to say for yourself?!”

Al was cut off when Ed banged his fist down with a harsh bang, “Is that really what you think?” Al flinched back, “Have you really believed that all this time?”

“…”

“Are you finished or is there more you wanted to say?” Ed asked softly, and when Al said nothing he sighed staring down at his plate.

“Okay.”

“Don’t go” Winry whimpered “Ed!”

Winry slowly turned towards Al, raising her wrench.

“Al…” she said “You moron!” which was promptly followed by a loud clang as she hit him on the head with her wrench.

Maes and the Lieutenants shivered behind her.

“W-what was that for?!” Alphonse yelled, affronted.

Winry didn’t grant him an answer, tears beginning to flow down her cheeks.

“W-Winry?!” Al panicked; he didn’t know how to stop this situation.

There was another clang.

“You idiot! You have no idea how Ed feels!” she shouted “You want to know what he wanted to talk to you about?!” it was a rhetorical question.

“He wanted to know if you blamed him for what happened!”

The memory flashed before her eyes, little Ed lying on that bed, blaming himself over and over.

She could hear Winry hitting Al over and over from where she was leaning against the wall, tears of her own filling her eyes.

“Don’t you get it?” Winry said “All the two of you have left is each other!”

Naruto flinched.

_If she had been there..!_

“Now, go get your brother!”

Al stood up

“Start running!”

“Right” he said shakily, running out of the room and down the corridor.

Nobody noticed Naruto as she slipped into the room to sit across from Winry.

“You…” the younger blonde said slowly, “You know?”

Naruto took a deep breath; she seemed to be doing that a lot lately, and stared Winry in the eyes with a hard resolve.

“How bad was it when I left?” she asked “Please, tell me the truth.”

* * *

“And the last thing I remember is this guy kicking me” said Ed, holding up a paper with a poorly drawn face on it.

Naruto was currently hiding in the ceiling. She knew it was wrong and if her siblings knew they would never forgive her but she really didn’t have a choice here! They didn’t talk to her and she needed to know what was going on. This left her with limited options and this seemed like the best choice. Even if she felt slightly guilty about it.

The door to the room suddenly opened and Naruto pushed her presence down even more. A blast of power hit her and her eyes widened, her breath stuttering to a halt at the force of it. Who was this guy?! His aura was so heavy she could taste it, hot and heavy in her mouth. Kyuubi shifted insider her, peering out of his cage, much like he did in the presence of that other man. She could feel the sweat beginning to run down her forehead and took a quiet breath, trying to calm herself from the strong urge to flee.

Everyone in the room seemed shocked before rushing to salute. Couldn’t they feel his aura? His power?!

“Fuhrer Bradely!” said Armstrong “your excellency!”

_What’s the Fuhrer doing here? And why…does he feel so wrong?_

“May I please ask the occasion sir?” Asked Hughes from where he was bowing.

“This boy” said Bradley, stepping forward, “you’re injured. I thought a nice melon would cheer you up.”

“I guess…” said Ed taking the offered basket “thank you sir!”

“I heard that you’ve been checking up on the senior staff. Is this true Major?”

“Well, yes” said the before mentioned, sweating nervously, “But how did you know?”

“You should know that nothing gets past me” he said, his eye stern.

“And you, Fullmetal Alchemist” he said “Tell me what you know about the Philopheser’s Stone. I hope for your sake it’s not too much.”

Ed was sweating under the harsh scrutiny of someone who could so easily destroy him. His face was slightly pinched as he opened his mouth to answer, but didn’t have the chance as King Bradley suddenly started laughing.

“I’m kidding” he said, putting his hand on Ed’s shoulder (Naruto snarled) “there’s no reason for you to be so uptight.”

“Haaah?!” said one frazzled Ed.

“I know there’s some suspicious activity in the Military lately and I think it’s necessary something is done about it.”

He reached out and grabbed the stack of paper’s sitting innocently on the small desk.

“A list of the research team assigned to study the Philopheser’s Stone” he said before Armstrong could explain himself.

“Every person documented has gone missing.”

“!!!”

“And all days before that Fifth Laboratory collapsed. It seems the enemies a step ahead of us. Even with my large network of informants I don’t know how far our ranks have been infiltrated.

“All we know about them is that they know a lot about us.”

Naruto listened to all of this silently, a slight crease in her brow. Something seemed wrong here, mainly to do with the eye-patch guy. He set her nerves on end.

“In that case, this is proving to be more dangerous than we thought” said Maes

“Major Armstrong, Lt. Colonel Hughes, Elric brothers, you’ve proven yourself to be trustworthy men.

“From this moment forward I’m giving you the direct order to forget this matter and everything it concerns.”

He let his gaze sweep through everyone in the room, “At this point suspicion is strong and our only form of defense is discretion.

“Do not trust anyone,” he suddenly grinned, “however when the time comes to confront the enemy I expect you to be prepared to join me!”

“Where is he?!” someone shouted outside, “Has Fuhrer Bradely been through here?”

The Fuhrer seemed to start sweating and quickly gave salutes, muttering ‘damn bodyguard thinks he’s my shadow’ before jumping on the ledge of the window to shock of everyone.

He turned back and said “I snuck away to get a few minutes of privacy” before jumping out the window. However before he left his eye shot toward the ceiling in a smoldering glare that nobody except Naruto noticed and she tensed up, claws digging into the wood below her, sweat pouring down her face in rivers and Kyuubi laughed, long and loud.

“Hey Ed!” called Winry, entering the room only to blink at the sight of everyone staring out the window blankly. “What the..?”

“Did I miss something?” she asked

“Not really,” said Ed “just a tornado passing through…”

Winry hummed, walking into the room “Well there’s not much I can do to help there, but I got those tickets you asked for!”

“Thanks! Just in time.” Ed grinned.

Winry opted out of telling him about the extra ticket she bought for his sister.

“And where are you headed off to this time?” Asked Maes, peaking at the tickets, “What’s in Dublith?”

Al started shaking.

* * *

After it was decided that Winry would come with them for a quick stop in Rush Valley everyone was packed and ready to go.

“ _What are you doing here?!”_

“I’m coming with you!” said Naruto happily, grinning from ear to ear.

“Here’s your ticket.” Said Winry smiling

“Winry!” Ed spluttered, betrayed.

“How exciting!” Alphonse said happily “Nee-chan, our first trip together!”

Winry began pushing the three of them up the steps of the train, Ed protesting the whole way while Naruto laughed at him, saying as many short phrases as she could come up with.

They all waved out the window at the Lieutenants, Armstrong, Gracia and little Elysia, who were watching with vaguely pained expressions.

“Are they going to be okay?” asked Armstrong

Al watched his fighting siblings and sighed. It would be a long ride, but he still felt excited, something Winry seemed to agree as she sat grinning next to him.

 

Meanwhile, one Maes Hughes walked toward his death.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoo! I’m done :D Yes, Maes still dies >.> S-sorry, it’s essential to the story… 
> 
> I had fun writing Winry honestly.
> 
> Look at the words! Look at them! So many~!! I made this chapter pretty long compared to the others huh…anyway, thanks for reading! Until next time!


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> To the Guest who left a review-
> 
> To Guest: Naruto's shinobi rank huh…I didn't purposefully avoid telling it, I've been mulling over it for a while now, and the conclusion I've come to is that Naruto would be officially a Jonin. However, this is only accounting for her Shinobi skills, this doesn't take into account her alchemy prowess (which will come into play later :D). And let's not forget her sage training! However, the council and Shinobi's don't know this, they barely even know of this entire other continent which has remained off their radar since, well, forever. They are the Hidden Countries after all, and have been too involved in war to bother with exploring outside of their continent - which would bring in the clans that weren't involved in the war (namely the Uzumaki's, but you'll learn more about that later). Also, you may be confused by chapter 4 where the council threatens to declare her an S-rank missing Nin – they weren't taking into account her skill, merely the fact that she is a Jinchuuriki, so don't let that throw you off. So, yes, she would officially be a Jonin, however, that information may be inaccurate due to many outside considerations to account for. I'll leave it up to your interpretation.

_Drip…drip…drip_

_Navigating these halls was simple enough. This place was so familiar in its rugged landscape, the constant drips of water beating an endless tempo in the dreary dark space, that she could walk through it with all of her senses gone and not stumble once. She steeled herself as she walked further and further into the depths of her own mind, the heavy, oppressive chakra of a being that could create tsunami's with just a swing of its tail, that could flatten mountains, and destroy anything in its path – a being held against its will in a measly_ child  _of all things – running thick and hot in the air._

_Drip…drip…drip_

_She could feel the tingling sensation of fear begin to run up her neck, like it always did when she came to this place, a fear she couldn't stop no matter how much she wished it._

_(And she did, she wished that fear gone so much, hates the feeling of being afraid of herself, of what she could_ become –  _because that's what this horrible place was, a hive of endless potential, the potential of a_ monster _. All it took was a stone carelessly thrown into a river, a breeze blowing too hard and everything,_ everything  _could have been different, the ripples could have stretched far and wide, reaching into the corners of time and changing the course she set herself on)_

_Drip…drip…drip_

_The room was right ahead, the chakra growing stronger with every slosh forward and she did not waver, did not pause or contemplate simply turning and leaving. Dealing with the massive kitsune was a pain in and of itself, the demon being naturally conniving, and doing everything in its power to bring her agony, and as she stared up at its massive figure, absentmindedly counting its tails, she felt exhaustion fall over her. Its back was turned to her, growls resonating through the room with its every exhale as it blatantly ignored her._

" _Oi" she called out and a single ear flicked in her direction, as much of an acknowledgement as she'd ever get, and even that is remarkable._

" _Tell me everything you know about the Philosophers Stone." She said, determined_

_A malicious grin stretches across a too wide muzzle, red eyes narrowing in sadistic glee._

_Drip…drip…drip_

* * *

"Automail!" screeches Winry in joy, practically vibrating with her excitement, and Naruto rolls her eyes fondly.

"Are you sure you're okay Nee-san?" asks Al worriedly, fretting around her, and she sighs

" _Yes_ Al, I'm perfectly fine" she reassures exasperatedly, but Al doesn't look the least convinced

"But," he says, armor clinking as he paces in worry "you wouldn't  _wake up,_ no matter what we tried – we almost had to carry you off the train!"

She merely smiles at him, not really able to tell him she was doing (talking to a demon in her gut), and she can see Ed glaring at her from the corner of her eye; worried as well but unwilling to admit it (which might make her happy). Winry seemed to completely forget about the incident as she wriggled and marveled in the pure awe that was  _The Rush Valley!_

"And, I told you, that it sometimes happens," she reassures once again "it's a problem that's been passed down from my mother's side of the family, I've already seen a doctor about it."

Half-truths were much better than nothing; and she resiliently squashed down her guilt.

Al still seems unsure but was willing to let the issue drop so she nods and moves on to continue their little journey when a shout makes them all pause.

"Hey kid, wait!"

And suddenly Ed is surrounded by Automail-Freaks (capitalization very much needed, thank you very much) and they can do nothing more than watch on the sidelines as his pants and shirt are flung away. Only when he roars in anger and start laying some punches does Ed finally manage to free himself – hissing and spitting every step of the way – to pull on his clothes, when he suddenly freezes.

"What's wrong?" she asks, leaning over him to check for injury.

"It's gone…" he mumbles, face paling.

"What is?" Winry asks, her attention focusing on him.

"My silver watch!" he wails, and Naruto watches in amusement as Al and Winry join him with shrieking in terror.

"Sounds like you've been hit by Paninya" says one of the Automail-Freaks and Ed turns desperately toward him.

"Where can I find this 'Paninya'?" he asks "She took something important!"

The Automail-Freak seems to pause, rubbing his chin in thought as his eyes close in contemplation before he smiles greedily, "I think I know what will jog my memory" he grins, "another look at that Auto-mail!"

The man is promptly punched. Naruto feels no pity.

Winry sighs miserably as she trecks through the blistering heat toward the auto-mail shop run by one Dominic. Naruto and Ed moan in agony next to her and she share's a sympathetic glance with them.

"Couldn't this guy live closer to town?!" hisses Naruto, tugging her jacket off to reveal a mesh shirt underneath and draping it over her head in an attempt to block out the sun.

"Apparently this guy lives out here to find the best quality ore for his Auto-Mail" replies Winry, shrugging her way underneath Naruto's jacket and she whimpers when some of the heat abides.

Ed scowls, "what a pain in the ass" and Winry wonders how he can move with that thick leather jacket and pants weighing him down before all thought screeches to a stop when Ed makes an off-hand comment.

"What do you mean 'all my fault'?!"

Naruto and Al sigh wearily as the two begin to butt heads and the two siblings pause when they see a girl in the distance run across a bridge, something gleaming in her hand.

"I think that's the chick you're looking for-" Naruto says, pointing downward at the same time that Al manages to break up their fight. Ed's attention is immediately drawn to where her finger is pointing.

"Now I've got you!" Ed cackles madly and takes off in a flurry of blonde and white, alchemic reactions blending seamlessly together and Naruto takes a moment to stare at her brother in awe. She's beginning to realize that while she was gone he had grown into a (rather short, mind you) man, and she felt respect and bitterness coil tightly in her chest; hating that he was forced to grow like this because of her own selfish decisions, and prideful of just how far he's grown.

Winry can barely keep up and Al is already shooting off, pulling chalk from seemingly nowhere and she matches the stride of the other blonde. She wants to preserve her secret for as long as possible, even if (when) it did blow up in her face.

Stone hands reach toward the girl who twirls away, a smile tugging at her lips as she voices her awe.

'And really,' Naruto thought to herself 'must he show off?' The sheer detail in his alchemy astounded her, simple things that most would forget, complex designs, texture, that he adds almost like an afterthought. She, herself was quite adept at alchemy but she never showed the promise Al and Ed did, nor the intelligence. While definitely smarter than a normal child her age – enough so to be considered a prodigy – she was always a step behind her brothers, and when she thought she had caught up it would turn out that they were already much further ahead, her closeness a trick of the light. That while she was struggling with that one extra step they were already leaps and bounds ahead and she could do nothing but watch. She felt no jealousy, only pride.

"I've been waiting for you" says Al innocently before a large cage is twisting around Paninya, electricity running along its edges in a brilliant display of power and beauty. The girl warily glances around her prison.

"Nicely done Al!" says Winry as Ed lands in front of them.

"I'd like my watch back!" he says before the metal of the cage is suddenly torn apart, the girls' leg twisting into a sharp blade and she smirks. Naruto's kunai is in her hand in less than a second, ready to intercept any attack the other could dish out. Winry stares at her, Ed and Al don't seem to notice.

"Don't look so surprised!" Paninya says rhetorically "you've seen the town' haven't you?"

"Oh, and, by the way," she says absentmindedly, pulling up her pants leg "my other leg has a canon!" and that's all the warning they get before lead is shooting toward Ed with a bang, who dodges smoothly.

The girl is turning to leave, managing a step before Winry latches onto her arm, and Naruto is already holding on to the girls other, her hands subconsciously finding the vital arteries there (because she  _is_ a ninja after all, a killer, someone trained so harshly and deeply in the ways of murdering that this is nothing more than habit) before pressing down lightly.

"That wasn't so hard was it?" says Winry confidently.

The girl laughs nervously, eyes flicking in Naruto's direction, arm wriggling uncomfortably.

"Don't let her go!" shouts Ed, running toward them.

"As if I would, if I did I wouldn't get a chance to look at her Auto-Mail!" and Naruto laughs at the predictability of Winry's thoughts, and if Winry shoots her a look she pretends not to see it and Winry doesn't ask, instead focusing on the Auto-Mail before her.

* * *

Naruto thanks the pregnant woman as she takes a sip of the tea that was served to her, eyes roving around the nice shop.

Ed's Auto-Mail was being checked by Dominic, and not understanding any of the words being said she opted to sit on the sidelines rather than force herself to partake in a conversation she wasn't interested in.

"Your Auto-Mail is a little heavy, which might be preventing your growth" Dominic says after a moment, and Naruto see's the realization spread on Eds' face the moment it hits her as well.

Might be preventing his growth. Preventing his growth.

"Y-you mean if I get lighter Auto-Mail I'll grow taller?!" he practically shouts.

The man nods, rubbing his chin roughly "probably…"

_Probably…probably…probably…_

The words echo in her mind like a mantra and she can feel tears prickling her eyes.

She can see it. Ed looming over her as he laughs, short joke after short joke falling from his mouth; and she wouldn't be able to say anything in return. She despairs.

_But what about me?!_ She wails silently to herself and Al pats her shoulder as she curls inward in despair.

"Mr. Dominic please make me your apprentice!" Winry is begging but Naruto was ignoring her, focusing on her fantasy.

"Not a chance." The answer is deadpan and very quick.

"Maybe you can think about it..?"

"No way in hell." Said just as quick.

"But," Ed weasels in, a dreamy look on his face "surely you can take some time out of your busy schedule and teach her how to make Auto-Mail to make me taller?"

"No way you flea" Ed reals back in shock, collapsing at the insult toward his height and Naruto feels sadistic pleasure.  _If I have to stay small, so do you!_ (A voice surprisingly similar to Hinata scolds her and she cringes)

After that so much happens, she helps deliver a baby,  _a baby!_ And it was so amazing. She can see now, why Sakura enjoys being a medic nin, the feeling of helping someone, of delivering a life, was addicting. She felt so powerful, and small at the same time, the universe really does work in strange ways. Before she knows it she's back on a train to Dublith, Winry staying behind to become a better engineer.

"Bye Winry!" Naruto yelled, grinning from ear to ear as she waved at her sister and helped Ed and Al onto the train.

"Bye Naruto! Ed! Al!" she shouted, running after them.

"Don't forget to call Granny and keep her posted!" Ed shouted

"As if your one to talk!"

Naruto and Al shared miserable looks as they watched Ed and Winry bicker for (hopefully) the last time. They watched as Winry got smaller in the distance before making their way through the train, their hearts light and minds determined.

* * *

They were leaving him. Why? Did he do something wrong? Was he bad?

"Dad!" he cried out, "Nee-san! Don't leave me!" but it was no use, the door slamming loudly behind them, and he couldn't reach the handle (why? Why was he so  _small?_ ).

He was left clutching at darkness.

"Brother?" said Al after he had jolted awake, "did you have a dream?"

Naruto was sleeping beside Al, her head leaning against the window and he was silently grateful.

"Yeah," he muttered, slouching down and rubbing his head "it was about  _him"_

Al didn't say anything and they passed the rest of the ride in silence, waking Naruto when they finally arrive in Dublith.

"It sure would be nice if teacher wasn't home…" sighed out Ed

"Yeah…"

Naruto was curious as to who this 'teacher' was, who seemed to scare Ed and Al deeply. She could hear Ed's pounding heart beat and felt excitement begin to crawl up her spine. This would be  _awesome_.

Large pounding footsteps echoed behind the closed door and she stared bewildered as a large man wielding a bloodied knife opened the door. Ed and Al screeched.

"H-hey Sid" said Ed nervously and the man roughly patted (squished) his head.

"You've grown up a little huh?" he said in a deep voice.

"You probably don't recognize me, but it's Alphonse" said Al, "sorry we've been away so long…"

And Ed and Naruto watched apprehensively as Side stared at Al before finally patting his head with a "and you've grown up more than a little".

Naruto could feel the happiness radiating off of Al at that simple comment and her chest ached.

It was little more than a minute later when Ed was flying across the street, sprawling across the ground, by a rather sickly looking woman.

"Hello my stupid student, I heard you've become the Military's dog" she barked before turning to Al with a much happier appearance. He was sent flying too.

Naruto struggled to keep down her amusement, a snort falling out of her mouth before she could stop it. The woman's attention was immediately on her.

"And who are you?" she asked, smiling with a tone that was much nicer compared to the one she gave to her students.

"I'm Elric Naruto!" she said smiling and bowing down in greeting "their," she added, jabbing a finger in the other two's general direction "older sister"

"Oh" said the woman, looking surprised, "I didn't know my students had a sister"

"Hehe, I haven't been around much…"

"You sure do have a lot of energy for someone who's not feeling well" said Al weekly from the ground

"What do you mean not feeling well?!" yelled the woman before blood began to spurt out of her mouth in copious amounts.

"EEEK!"

* * *

"The Philosopher's Stone? No I don't know much about it, it holds no interest for me" said Izumi after they were all properly introduced.

"I see" said Ed wearily "Ok…"

"There was that one man from Central" Sid added in helpfully, "He knew a good amount about the stone"

"Really?" asked Ed excitedly, Al sitting up straighter, and Naruto took a sip of her tea, calmly observing everyone's body language "who was he?"

"I think his name was Hohenhiem" Izumi said, rubbing her chin thoughtfully and Naruto flinched at the haunted look that fell over Ed's face and Al's immediate worry.

"What is it? Someone you know?"

"He's our father" said Al quietly, and Naruto looked away and out the window as memories fell upon her. She was lost in those an awful lot lately.

"…The one who ran out on you when you were little?"

"Yeah that's the one" Ed bit out spitefully, glancing in Naruto's direction "it's because of that bastard that our mothers dead…"

' _You boys sure are up awfully early!'_

' _Why isn't dad here?'_

' _When's he gonna be back?'_

_Mom…_

"Um, did our dad say anything about the Philosopher's stone?" asked Al quickly, trying to dissolve the rising tension

"Just something about a lifelong dream coming true" And Naruto couldn't help the sneer that crossed her face, her teeth baring into a snarl that she tried to smooth out before her brothers noticed, but she knew she was not successful and Izumi stared at her. The woman was now thoughtfully looking in her direction, a gleam in her eye.

The teacher hummed before standing up to deliver a harsh slap to Ed's head, "Were eating now!"

"O-ok"

Al was telling Izumi about the events in Rush Valley, how they delivered the baby, but she wasn't really listening. Her thoughts were far away, on the conversation she held with Kyuubi and her mind was in disarray. She didn't know what to make of the information she had acquired, but she knew one thing – she couldn't tell her brothers. This – this whole load of shit that was piling on top of her and destroying her future, was her burden to bear. She couldn't drag them into this, not after everything they've been through, the hell and agony.

"That same miracle brings us all into this world," Izumi was saying "always take pride in the life that was given to you"

Naruto wondered why her eyes looked so sad.

* * *

"There's something you're hiding from those boys"

Naruto sighed, rubbing her hand across her face and stared up into the stars that were splattered across the sky.  _There's lots of things I'm hiding from those boys_ she wants to say, but what comes out was,

"So are you"

Izumi regards her, leaning against the wall Naruto was perched on and they were silent for a moment, contemplating the stars.

"If those boys get hurt-"

"They're my brothers;" Naruto cuts off sharply, "everything I've ever done was for them. Always for them."

Izumi lets her eyes rove over the young girl, taking in her words, her demeanor before nodding and moving to go back inside.

"Did something happen?" Naruto asks before she leaves, and Izumi pauses in the doorway

"What do you mean?"

"When you took in my brothers as your students, was there a reason?" Naruto clarifies, remembering the sad look that haunted the other woman's eyes "You don't seem like the type to take in strays."

Izumi throws her head back and laughs, before turning to Naruto with a smirk, "Those boys" she said, "they're special."

And Naruto was left alone.

' _Special indeed'_ Kyuubi rumbles and she hisses at it.

* * *

"You saw it, didn't you?"

Naruto watches and listenes from the roof, hidden from prying eyes. Kyuubi's words replayed in her head.

"It seems the both of us are beyond help."

Images flashed before her eyes, grotesque figures, laughing madmen, a pure red stone.

"You saw it too" he whispered, "Could you tell me?"

And Izumi did, she told him everything, about her child, the transmutation, her organs, and Naruto listened, prying in to this secret conversation without them being aware and guilt clawed at her but  _she needs to know, she needs to protect them, even from themselves._

"It's okay! It's nothing!"

"Now I have all this food I can look forward to eating!"

And tears were falling down her whiskered cheeks, because  _dammit_ this is all her fault, if she hadn't left..!

She watches them cry, unable to do anything  _but_ watch and hates herself. Even when she's here with them she can't protect them, can't help them. She can't imagine the pain they're going through, the agony of losing their father, mother, sister, and even their  _bodies._

"Please forgive us"

"Were so sorry"

* * *

"I can't accept the decision you made" Izumi says, and Naruto can't see her from where she's hiding, and she can't quiet place her tone.

"Your expelled" it was said with such finality that Naruto was left briefly shocked, wanting to protest on her brothers behalf.

"But teacher-" Al starts, but Ed stops him.

"The trains are still running. Get on one."

"Thank you for everything" Ed bows, and listening to the quiver in his voice Naruto understands.

"Feel free to drop by whenever you're in town, this includes you, Naruto" Sid says, smiling at Naruto from where she's leaning against a pillar.

"Thanks Sid" she says before turning toward her brothers and stalking towards them

"I don't think that's a good idea…"

Naruto sighs loudly and throws her arms around both of their shoulders; ignoring Ed's glare, and loudly declares "Your idiots" before nodding to herself. Idiots (but so is she).

"You're too busy pouting to understand what your expulsion means" adds Sid, "now that you're not her students you can talk to her like equals."

"Aw man" Ed groans, rubbing his hand across his face and shrugging out from under Naruto (who pouts).

"Were not done here! Al, we haven't finished what we came here to do!"

Naruto and Sid watch them take off back to the house, throwing out a "don't let her kill you" and sighing at each other.

"Those two…"

Running after them she perched herself on the roof of the house, letting her enhanced hearing do the working for her, when she heard a slithering sound. Crouching low, she brought out her kunai and twirled them in her hand, stalking along the shadows. A cloaked figure was listening to the trio's conversation and she saw a  _tail..?_ flick out behind it. It crawled along the wall, sticking to the side effortlessly and Naruto focused her chakra to the soles of her feet to creep along behind it.

"So the rumors are true" it muttered to itself, "He can transmutate human souls"

Reaching out she grabbed the thing by its neck and flung the both of them to the roof, and, landing with a huff on top of the struggling creature she pressed her blade to its throat. Her eyes did a quick once over, her mind processing all the details it can muster.  _Reptilian tail, distorted features,_ and her first thought was of Orochimaru but she cast that aside, the chances of him being behind this things appearance was doubtful, she would mull over it later. Chimera, she settled on for now; but she never knew they could be made to be so  _human,_ and could  _talk._

"Who are you?" she hissed at it, a thin line of blood streaking down its neck and it shrieked, it's tail whipping around to hit her. She stomped her foot down on it and it bared its teeth angrily at her, pain reflecting in its eyes.

"There's more where that came from" she promised darkly, "if you don't answer my questions  _right now."_

It stopped and sniggered at her, hissing "you don't scare me, little girl" in a snake like voice, "Greed is so much scarier"

_Greed..?!_ Her moment of hesitation cost her, and the thing flung its tail out to knock her back and take off down the side of the house and through the alleys. She let it go; having gained more information than the chimera probably thought it gave away. She would scout its route later, its mad dash having left behind subtle hints, to find its base. It was likely to have other  _friends._

Shaking herself off she jumped to the ground and made her way inside the house. Ed and Al were sitting at the table, Izumi was in the kitchen and they glanced up when they heard her enter.

"…Nee-san?" Al asked hesitantly "Are you okay?"

"Huh?" she said, startled "Yeah, why?"

"Your bleeding" said Ed bluntly, his eyes narrowed.

Bringing her hand to her cheek she pulled it away to find that, indeed, he was bleeding. The chimera must have scratched her in their struggle; she would need to be more careful in the future; what if its claws were poisoned? Kyuubi would heal her, but still, it was stupid to be so careless. The demon snorted at her muttering insults under its breath. She ignored it.

"Hmm" she said, before grinning at them "I wonder how that happened? I didn't even notice!" and noticing Al's fretful looks she added on "don't worry, I'm fine, I heal fast after all, and this is just a scratch!"

"But still…" she waved him off

"I'm going to bed guys, it's been a long day, see you in the morning!" and after Ed and Al muttered good night she made her way toward her room to mull over the days' events. After everyone went to bed she would scout the town for the chimera's base - until then she had much to think about.

* * *

_Drip…drip…drip_

" _Tell me, human" it grinned at her, putrid breath expelling from its mouth in hot steam. She held her ground, staring it down._

" _What do you know about The Truth?"_

_Drip…drip…drip_


	7. Chapter 7

_She was so warm…_

_There was a comforting weight around her middle, her face and bosom pressed on something smooth and warm, and she was very, very content. She felt no desire to open her eyes or even move, and she felt she could happily die like this, safe and loved. She could feel a heartbeat pressed against hers, but she gave it little thought, lost as she was in the bliss only the comfort of another living person could provide. For once she has no worries, no pressing weight on her mind or ache in her chest – only the knowledge that she was safe, that she could sleep forever and no one would complain. But still…_

_She was curious. Who was this person, holding her so softly? Whose hair tickles the edge of her face, and breath plays with the wisps of her own baby hair? She needs to know. She feels the urge suddenly, and it overwhelms everything else – the comfort is gone, the warmth gives off a feeling of discomfort, and the soft breaths that steadily blow at her are intimidating. Sensing this, the other body shifts, pulling her closer, and she vehemently brings her curled hands up to push herself away, opening her eyes with a strangled yell, because they feel, so, so heavy._

_Deep, coal eyes stare back at her, inches away, with no pupil to be seen. She vaguely feels recognition, but is too overwhelmed by fear to even attempt to place this familiar face. His mouth opens, eyes soft, and she wants to run away. Seeing this face brings her despair, an overwhelming feeling of sadness, betrayal, and loneliness. This person hurt her, and she feels numbness crawl up her spine and into her mind, because while this person ripped her to pieces she still loves them. Why does she care for them? Who are they? Why do they look so_ sad? _Why would she forgive them, when she still feels this terrible ache? The emotions are too much, the numbness too cold, and she does the only thing she can think to do._

_She screams._

* * *

She doesn’t awake with a start, sweating and panting, or even screaming like in her dream. When she wakes, it’s calmly, her face blank, and eyes blanker. Nightmares are no stranger to Shinobi and they are taught early on how to control their body while sleeping. To scream while on a mission is only recipe for disaster after all, alerting the enemy to your presence and wasting valuable sleep the other Shinobi need; Kakashi-sensei taught them shortly after Sasuke…how to regulate their breathing and keep their body still while unconscious, even while their mind is in panic. As he taught them it was with a grim look on his hidden face, and a sad look in his eye. Whilst a demanding task, and one that took her many months to master, she has learned to appreciate it. No longer would she have to deal with the pounding on her wall from irritable next door neighbors, nor the snooty glare of the landlord as she stares down her incredibly long, pointy nose and threatens to evict her if this _ever happens again_ (it happens again, as it always does, but the lady could do nothing but sneer at her; the apartment she lived in was paid for by the Hokage himself, and no amount of complaining and threatening would overrule that authority).

“…Nee-chan?” comes a soft voice and she is startled out of her thoughts, looking up quickly.

“Oh, hey Al! What’s up?” she asks stretching her arms above her head and leaning back on the wall she fell asleep on, sunlight soft on her face. Al was holding a broom in his hand, a worried tone in his voice.

“Are you okay? You seem…out of it” he finally replied slowly, and she had to blink a moment to process his words.

She wasn’t used to people being worried about her after a nightmare; they were common back home and were treated with quiet understanding eyes, and soft distracting conversation. They were never mentioned, and she appreciated it on the worst of nights.

“I’m fine!” she said reassuringly, as she often seemed to do these days. And she was – she couldn’t even remember what the dream had been about, much less stress over it.

“Okay” he said unconvinced, but went back to sweeping the ground, still shooting her glances.

Sighing happily she stretched out across floor and basked in the sun. She had already finished her share of chores and was now able to do as she pleased, something she took great enjoyment in dangling over Ed’s short head. Looking around she noticed he was nowhere to be seen and shrugged. She’d bother him later, Al was right here!

She was about to open her mouth, when a scent suddenly came to her. Tensing she took a few discreet sniffs and narrowed her eyes; the chimera was back. Pushing herself to her feet smoothly she let her senses take over and heighten themselves, trying to pinpoint its location. Her ears could pick up its breathing accompanied by the sound of a swishing tail, her nose finding its scent, and her eyes tracking the surrounding area for signs of movement. Suddenly, a ball of paper flew from one of the surrounding roofs and in front of Al, who stared at it bemusedly, and reached down to pick it up. Before he could, however, Naruto snatched it from the floor, darting out of his reach so he couldn’t attempt to take it back, and smoothed the wrinkled mass out. After making sure there were no poisons on the page (if all even _could_ be poisoned), or anything threatening she cleared her throat, shooting Al a hard glance when he took a step toward her. Then she read it aloud:

“We know your secret; meet us at the Devil’s Nest if you want to talk”

She stared at the paper for a moment before her eyes rolled up to stare at Al accusingly, who was fidgeting nervously and waving his hands around in a manner so to say ‘I don’t know what that things talking about, I have no secrets and I am an innocent little boy who could do no wrong, none what’s-so-ever’. She merely sighed at him; she was keeping secrets too after all, and rolled up the paper to throw at him with a muttered “catch”, and watched him fumble for a moment with it.

He stared at her for few moments, obviously confused at her lack of questioning, and seemed to want to say something, but before he could she was in the house and out of his sight. If she told him she would go with him (or that he couldn’t go at all) he would refuse, and they would begin fighting, which would eventually attract Ed’s attention, and she knew she couldn’t refuse the _both_ of them. In order to avoid any chaos, she would much rather follow him there without his knowledge. She could protect him from afar and she trusted him to be able to take care of himself. The only reason she picked up the paper in the first place was to show that she was aware they were keeping secrets from her (and to protect him, of course), and that she understood. Glancing out the window she watched him walk along the street, and quietly snuck outside to jump onto the rooftops. He didn’t notice her.

Following him was an easy task, he _was_ a huge suit of metal armor, and she focused on staying quiet as her feet darted across the tiles, jumping from roof to roof, and weaving between chimneys. It wasn’t long before they arrived at the Devil’s Nest and she spotted a group waiting for them, each smelling varying degrees of animal. She spots the lizard man and snarls at him; she couldn’t find their base, his trail stopping abruptly in the middle of an alley and she was immensely annoyed about it. This could have been avoided.

“There you are, it’s about time” said one who smelled suspiciously of dog, and she is hit with the memory of Kiba before she shook it off.

Al holds up the letter and reads it aloud, remaining calm despite the strange situation he was in.

“I’m guessing you’re the people who wrote this note?” he asked finally

“That’s right!” said dog-man, holding his arms up in a placating gesture, “And” he adds “we know a lot about you”

Al seems sad for a moment before replying “that’s good, I don’t know a lot about myself”

“Then I’m the guy you want to talk to!” says dog-man, “Why don’t you come with us?”

“But my teacher says I shouldn’t go with strangers!” Naruto is mentally thrown, and struggles to keep her snorting and laughing down. That’s her boy!

The man also seems surprised and, befuddled, asks “uh…how old are you?”

“14” comes Al chipper response and the man sighs, turning around to say,

“Well come on then, I think 14 is plenty old enough to make you own choices, you’ve gotta start taking some risks and acting like an adult!”

“You think so?” Al asks with sudden realization, “I should think for myself?”

“Yes! And you can start by coming with-”

The man is cut off by Al’s leg throwing him across the floor, his metal armor set in a fighting stance.

“I thought it over for myself,” he said, “and I’ve decided to just make you tell me what I want.” Naruto grinned from her hiding place, proud in how he handled the situation.

She slipped a kunai in one hand, a set of senbon in the other, and got ready to intervene should anything _really_ happen – legs crouched and feet pointed, her arms tense and eyes focused. She wouldn’t let them harm her brother. She watched with immense pride as her brother fought against the dog chimera, and eyed the others who were getting closer.

She watched as the man forced Al’s head off and a snake-woman slithered inside. She was immediately off the roof and slashing at the bull-man who was attempting to bring Al down, senbon already stuck deep within his flesh, and a cold look in her eyes.

He let go of her brother immediately and backed up, measuring her, the others staring at her in slight shock. She didn’t hesitate, crouching low and pushing herself toward him, kunai slashing upward and leaving a trail of blood behind, and she quickly brought her leg up to smash at his head, throwing him across the floor and into the wall, a loud boom reverberating with his impact. The dog-man seemed to come to his senses, and with a slight growl, readied his Katana to carve into her, swishing down toward her neck with surprising speed – it was a shame she had _very_ extended training with Katana’s and she easily avoided it. This man was nothing compared to Sasuke.

She saw her opening and twirled her blood stained kunai around, her arm shooting toward his neck as he tried to twist away, he had the realization that there wasn’t enough time in his eyes, and she could feel the flesh beginning to tear open beneath her blade when suddenly a voice rang through the air.

“Stop!” it shouted, and she could tell it was the snake-woman’s voice “Or I’ll scratch out his blood seal!”

Hissing silently she moved away from dog-man, who clutched at his slightly bleeding throat with a snarl. Throwing her kunai to the floor, she turned to face her brother.

He was completely still, a quiver to his legs, and if he had his head on it would likely look confused and shocked (if that was even possible). But that didn’t stop his voice from sounding such.

“Nee-chan?” he asked “W-what are you doing here?!”

“Sorry Al,” she said “I couldn’t let you get hurt.”

He was about to reply when another voice crawled itself up her spine, Kyuubi growling, and she immediately knew, – homunculi.

 “What’s going on here?”

“Boss!” said dog-man with a grin “We got everything under control…”

Naruto turned to stare at the Homunculi, taking in his odd appearance, and remembering what the lizard chimera said, deduced that this was ‘Greed’.

“And who’s this?” he asked with a grin, eying her in a suave manner, and she could see Al bristle before they were being led away and into the bar.

After tying her and Al up, they were thrown unceremoniously to the floor (much to the snake-woman’s annoyance) and stared down upon. Naruto hissed when Greed tried to cop a feel, glaring at him in a threatening manner. He grinned at her before turning his attention toward her brother, leaning toward him in interest.

“Cool,” he said, staring inside Al, “You’re actually hollow!” and he forced Al’s head back on.

“The names Greed and, I wanna be your friend” he grinned, turning away from them.

“Funny way you have of showing it…” Naruto muttered blandly, glaring at him.

“Then tell me what you people really are” said Al, surprisingly calm, and Naruto glanced at him worriedly.

“You’re not Chimera’s, it’s impossible, no one’s made a chimera that can talk” he said

Greed looked at him in surprise before kneeling down to look him in the eyes, “I’m surprised you’re having trouble believing me,” he said, turning to stare at Naruto “seeing as the woman your with is one…”

Naruto bristled, shooting daggers from her eyes before she spit out “I’m not a chimera!”

“Then do tell why,” Greed drawled lazily, turning from them “you reek of _fox_ ”

Al was looking back and forth between them, obviously confused.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” She said indifferently.

Greed hummed, but said no more on the subject, instead turning his attention back toward Al and introducing his allies. Al listened in shock, as Greed introduced himself as **_homunculi_**. Naruto snarled under her breath, trying to undo her bonds without attracting their attention.

“I’m an artificially created human,” Greed was saying, showing off his tattoo, “no joke.”

“You’re lying!” Al shouted, remembering reading about them as a child with his siblings “a Homunculus is just a theory, no one’s ever made one!”

“Aw man, looks like I’m gonna have to prove it to you…” he said, just as the bull-man punched him from behind, his head splattering across the floor. Al and Naruto stared in shock, it happened so fast.

“W-why’d you do that?!” Al shouted, and Greed began to rise from the ground, his bloody head reconstructing before their eyes and Naruto felt sick. Is this what it looked like when her body healed itself?

“That’s one time I’ve died” he grinned, taking satisfaction in their shock.

“You get it? Nothing’s impossible! I’m surprised you have a hard time believing that considering you’re just a soul in a suit of armor.”

Al flinched back, head shooting toward Naruto, who was still, and fumbled with words for a moment. She stayed silent, watching closely; Greed watched their interaction with interest.

“How do you know that..?” he asked at last, voice quiet.

“People like to talk in the shadow world” he said with a sadistic grin on his face “and I’ve got plenty of friends…”

“Well, let’s skip the casual chit-chat; I’m more interested in what it’s like to have a body that never dies!”

Naruto wasn’t surprised that Greed was so interested in Al, he was _Greed_ after all and Al looks like immortality achieved, and continued working at her bonds, slipping a senbon from her sleeve. She half payed attention to the conversation playing out in front of her.

“I’m not the one who did the Transmutation” Al was saying, staring at the floor.

“That’s alright! I’ll just ask the one who _did_ do the Transmutation.”

Naruto began to work harder at her bonds at hearing those words. They already have one of her brothers, she’s _will not_ let them have the other. Not on her watch!

* * *

Ed was worried. Well, worried wasn’t the correct term, he was more _concerned_ than worried. Worried would entail that he _cared_ about what happened to his si- Naruto; he wasn’t too concerned about his brother – Al was strong, he could take care of anything that was thrown at him. But not Naruto, she was a mere civilian.

“Now where exactly could a 7ft tall set of armor run off too..?” he muttered to himself, clutching a broom in one hand.

“I’d be happy to tell! So long as you tell me his secret…”

* * *

Naruto and Al looked up in surprise when the door suddenly burst open and Ed walked in, throwing the lizard chimera to the floor.

“Nii-san!”

“Ed…”

“Never crossed my mind that you could get kidnapped” he said, walking toward them

“Nii-san, this guy is a Homunculus!” Al said in a rush

“Are you serious?!”

“Heeey, way to ruin it!”

“We might be able to get some leads from him on how to get our body’s back!”

Ed looked at Greed seriously, his eyes flicking toward Naruto, who was strangely quiet; her eyes hooded by her hair.

Greed continued to show off his tattoo, which Ed recognized immediately.

Naruto quietly watched, Kyuubi whispering in her ear, as they talked about the other homunculi. This was dangerous; her instincts were _screaming_ at her and she knew she had to get her brothers out of here, but somehow her body wouldn’t move. This was important, Kyuubi told her, her brothers needed to hear this – to see this. And so did she.

“I can teach you how to fabricate your own homunculus in no time at all” Greed was saying “and in return all I ask is you show me how to transmutate a soul. Classic equivalent exchange!”

“But I really don’t understand why you’d want your old body back. Seems to me you have the perfect body already…”

He didn’t understand anything. Naruto snarled at him, wanting to rip his head off, but Kyuubi’s continued whispering stopped her. She can’t ruin this, he said, this is something they had to endure alone. She believed him, because her own mind told her the same.

“No I don’t!”

“You’re joking right? You don’t need to eat, you don’t need to sleep! You don’t even need to use the bathroom! Sounds great to me…”

Ed glared at Greed in rage, “that’s enough” he muttered “shut your damn mouth!”

Greed glanced at Ed in surprise as he _roared_ in anger, “Sounds great to you?! Seems perfect?!” he began shouting “You don’t know anything about the hell he’s had to go through with that body!”

“And you want to know how to transmute a soul?! You kidnap my brother and you wanna trade secrets with me?! I’m gonna crush you creeps! I’ll smash you, end you, and I won’t give you slime anything!”

“In other words, there won’t be an exchange with you!” He roared, and everyone stared at him in slight shock, Greed clapping his hands and Naruto couldn’t help it. She burst into laughter.

Al looked at her, worried, “Nee-chan..?”

She waved him off, clutching her stomach and heaving in laughter.

“I guess were doing this by force again…” said dog-man, sliding his katana from its sheath.

Ed kicked him before he could do more than draw it, his arm transmutating into a blade.

“Next?”

“Get the armored kid out of here, guess we’ll dismantle him” said Greed, and Naruto had _enough_ of waiting.

Shiruken were in her hands in an instant, whipping toward the bull-man in an instant, who dodged back from her. Cutting through her brothers bonds with a kunai she grabbed his arm and pulled him to his feet.

“Were going” she said “ _now_ ”

 Ed was looking at her in shock but was quickly distracted by Greed, who made to move towards them. Naruto grit her teeth and pulled Al with her (the snake-woman vehemently hissing at them), she would come back and help Ed when she was sure Al was safe.

Al was their objective, and while it wouldn’t hurt to have him fight with them it was too risky. She would need to secure him first.

Glancing back at Ed she quickly slipped through the door, holding tight to Al’s hand and running fast from the bull-man who was barreling after them.

Her mind turned back toward the conversation she had with Kyuubi, still in a bit of a shock over the events. Clutching Al’s cold hand tighter she hardened her resolve. She would protect them from what was to come.

* * *

_She sat there in something akin to shock, her mind whirling with the new information. The Truth…_

_She remembered when Kyuubi had snarled and growled in anger in the presence of those_ things _and looked up at him._

_“Why were you so angry when you saw King Bradely?” she asked, confused, and the growling immediately resonated through her soul._

_“Those things are abominations!” it yelled, teeth mashing and fangs bared “Disgusting, despicable! They shouldn’t exist!”_

_“What are they?” she asked hesitantly, crouched on the floor._

_“ **Homunculi”**_

_“But that’s impossible!” she shouted immediately, without a thought, remembering her Alchemy books from so long ago, and he snorted at her in cruel amusement_

_“Look at what you’re talking to” it said “A beast made of Chakra, a king of demons” the last bit was added with a note of pride, and she couldn’t help but roll her eyes._

_“How do I stop them?”_

_He turned and stared at her seriously, his eyes taking in her small form and weighing her skill._

_“As you are now” he said eventually, “you can’t. They would destroy you in an instant.”_

_“They are different from what you’ve faced so far, from Pein, from the Akatsuki, Orochimaru, Sasuke, and you will be killed easily.” And she knew he was telling the truth, because one thing a Kitsune would never lie about is its own survivability. They were old, and powerful, and feared death more than anything – she couldn’t risk not believing it, not if what it was saying was true._

_“There is no helping it” it said after a long moment, shifting to its feet (and its size humbled her for a moment), and staring down at her with the most serious expression she had ever seen on its furry face._

_“I will teach you how to wield and control my Chakra”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, what d’ya think?? Hell-uv-a cliff hanger huh? I wonder how Naruto will learn to control Kyuubi’s chakra, or even what she’ll learn. Muahaha we’ll all learn eventually~  
> Also, important – I hope you all noticed just how protective Naruto is, to the point where it’s almost ridiculous. She still sees them as children after all, as her baby brothers. Let’s see what that means for their relationship and their future~  
> Also, Ed is starting to see Naruto as family a little bit more. How exciting~


End file.
